A second session of marked increase for oil

(New York) Oil prices continued their rebound on Monday with a sharp second session of gains, sparked by strong US jobs data and the prospect of a pause in monetary tightening from the US central bank (Fed). .

The price of a barrel of Brent North Sea oil for July delivery gained 2.27%, to close at $77.01.

That of the barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with maturity in June, rose by 2.55%, to 73.16 dollars.

After falling to its lowest level in 17 months on Thursday, the black gold had started its recovery on Friday thanks to the monthly US employment report, according to which 253,000 jobs were created in April, significantly more than the 180,000 expected by economists.

The market maintained its momentum on Monday, fueled in part by purchases by speculative traders, who had positioned themselves on the downside and fear a trend reversal, fueled by other brokers, who are betting on the up, according to Bart Melek of TD Securities.

“The signal of a pause [in the monetary tightening cycle] from the Fed has made speculators come back a bit,” said the analyst, in a market that has regained some of its appetite for risk.

The halt in rate hikes should spare, in the minds of investors, consumption and demand for petroleum products, which operators feared would see suffocation.

And if the economic slowdown continues, they expect the Fed to start cutting rates soon, said Bart Melek, an outlook that encourages Wall Street optimism.

“Market sentiment, technical trading and mixed signals on fundamentals heighten crude volatility,” Eurasia Group analysts noted in a note. “These swings are expected to continue until the numbers give a clear indication of demand and its robustness in the second half. »

The community is already debating the next ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies of the OPEC agreement, which will however only take place in a month, on June 4.

“I don’t think they’re going to move, but I feel like there’s going to be a lot of discussion around it,” Bart Melek anticipates.

The two surprise decisions in October and April, which saw cartel members agree to cut production by a total of 3.16 million barrels per day, cast an atmosphere of uncertainty in the market, which further increases price volatility.