The NYMEX March West Texas Intermediate, which dipped to a 2025 low $70.66/bbl in Thursday morning trading, recovered to post a modest gain ahead of midday.
The shaky start came as President Trump reiterated his promise to reduce U.S. energy costs, saying that if oil prices decline "everything will follow."
But the Treasury department later in the morning said it was taking steps to target shadow networks responsible for moving Iranian oil to China. The agency said revenue from the exports have provided Iran with billions of dollars that it is using to destabilize the Mideast.
The March WTI contract was up by 24cts to $71.27/bbl in late morning trading and the April Brent crude contract added 20cts to $74.81/bbl after bouncing off a morning low of $74.24/bbl.
Citigroup on Wednesday said it believes chances that Brent prices will range from $60 to $65/bbl in the second half of 2025 have improved, adding that the Trump administration will do all that it can to reduce prices.
Trading in refined product futures was muted. The NYMEX March RBOB contract, which represents the last winter-grade contract for gasoline, was up by 2.34cts to $2.0741/gal.
U.S. spot gasoline prices were mixed, with California markets posting the strongest increases due to a rash of planned and unplanned maintenance work.
Cash prices for Los Angeles CARBOB were 3.25cts/gal higher and cash gasoline values in Northern California were up by more than 11cts/gal. East of the Rockies markets posted gains of 2-3.25cts/gal.
Gasoline could soon get a boost from the calendar. Several recent years have seen February motor fuel demand rise by 400,000 to 500,000 b/d and consumption could get a boost by forecasts of warmer weather across much of the U.S.
Distillate futures were fractionally higher near midday. The NYMEX March ULSD contract was 0.07ct higher at $2.3849/gal, despite more strength in European natural gas values. If that continues, the market could see more large natural gas users in Europe switching to diesel.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Tom Kloza, tkloza@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 06, 2025 12:10 ET (17:10 GMT)
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