Oil rises 2% but traders brace for wild ride on U.S. Election Day
Oil prices rose near 2% on Tuesday, advancing with other financial markets on U.S. Election Day although traders were bracing for volatility depending on the voting results and as surging coronavirus cases around the world fed worries about fuel demand.
Brent futures rose 74 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $39.71 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 85 cents, or 2.3%, to settle at $37.66.
The oil price moves came ahead of data expected to show U.S. crude stockpiles rose 900,000 barrels last week after gaining 4.3 million barrels in the prior week.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, will release its inventory report later Tuesday, ahead of government data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
After a rancorous presidential campaign that exposed the depth of the political divisions in the United States, Americans streamed to the polls on Tuesday to choose either incumbent Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden to lead a pandemic-battered nation for the next four years.
The threat of additional lockdowns that could depress energy demand capped oil price gains after Italy, Norway and Hungary tightened COVID-19 restrictions.
Sources said OPEC and Russia are considering deeper oil output cuts early next year to try to strengthen the oil market.
Reference: CNBC
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