Crude Oil Prices Settle Higher as Trump Decertifies Iran Nuclear Deal

Investing.com – Crude oil prices settled higher on signs of bullish Chinese demand while geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East raised the threat of supply disruptions.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange for November delivery rose 1.7% to settle at $51.45 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, added 63 cents to trade at $56.88 a barrel.

Chinese crude imports rose by roughly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to 9 million bpd in September, data showed on Friday. That eased investor concerns that global demand is set to weaken over the next year.

The International Agency Energy (EIA) on Thursday suggested that global demand for oil in 2018 could come under pressure forecasting demand for Opec oil to fall to 32.5 million bpd next year – roughly 150,000 bpd lower than the group pumped last month.

Also supporting an uptick in crude oil prices were concerns that political uncertainty in Iran and Iraq could lead to supply disruptions.

As was expected, President Donald Trump on Friday decided against certifying the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, raising the risk of doing business in the Middle Eastern nation.

Under the agreement, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear programme for at least 10 years in exchange for lighter economic sanctions that had crippled its economy.

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor ongoing unrest in Iraq as the fallout over an independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region threatens to disrupt the operation of a pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 barrels of crude per day.

In the U.S., oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said Friday its weekly count of oil rigs operating in the United States fell by 5 to 743.

The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.