The oil futures complex strengthened in the week to June 13, as militants from an al Qaeda splinter group captured cities in Iraq, and market watchers worried of damage and disruption to the country's oil infrastructure. The crisis is the latest of a growing list of geopolitical issues in recent months and years—such as Ukraine, Iran, Libya, and Syria—that keeps a floor under crude and product benchmarks, despite supply/demand fundamentals. At the start of the week, before Iraq became a major concern, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and UK Brent crude oil benchmark prices jumped on bullish economic reports out of the US and China. The US data, which actually spilled over from Friday of the previous week, showed employment numbers returning to a pre-recession peak. In China, meanwhile, a report showed that May exports beat forecasts, reflecting firm global demand, despite implied oil demand in China that appeared to be falling. Also, China's central bank announced plans to relax several policies in weaker areas of the economy, a move that was expected to help spur growth.
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