OIL PRICES

摘要

Brent rose sharply last week, on concerns about the regional and international consequences of disruption to crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transport route in the Gulf. Tehran denies involvement in attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman (as well as a recent alleged attempt to intercept a British tanker) and insists that an unmanned US surveillance drone was shot down over its own air space. Yet its plan to raise uranium enrichment keeps it on a path of US sanctions and confrontation. Support for Brent and WTI also came from the resumption of delicate US-Sino trade negotiations and speculation about an imminent US rate cut, which has weighed on the US dollar. OPEC and its allies agreed last week to extend production cuts for the next nine months, due to reservations about energy demand and a surge in shale-driven US supply.