Oil prices started the year higher on hopes that the agreement between OPEC members and non-OPEC states to cut production would, in fact, reduce the global supply surplus. U.S. benchmark WTI crude oil prices traded up 0.6 percent at $54.04, near the highs hit on December 12, which International Brent crude oil prices spiked 0.55 percent, trading at $57.13. Both grades of oil are up about 20 percent from where they were a year ago.
Traders and analysts across the globe are expecting signs in January as to whether the deal will stick, or whether the participants will abandon their commitments and raise output again. According to the terms of the agreement, global output is to be reduced by 1.8 million barrels per day.
Bullish analysts expect 80 percent of nations to comply with their commitments in order to keep oil prices rising back towards their 2014 levels. Yet skeptics such as Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, believe that even if oil prices rise, they won’t break through abnormally high levels and will likely become stagnant once hitting the $55 level, due to pushback from shale producers.
Currency Markets Remain Flat
The U.S. dollar remained firm during Tuesday’s Asian session, with the dollar index trading at 12.600 .DXY, 0.4 percent higher. The greenback traded at 117.35 yen, though Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, creating relatively thin trading conditions. The euro traded at $1.0485 near the middle of Tuesday’s Asian session, up from lows earlier in the session.
Chinese factory data released on Tuesday showed that output neared a six-year high, which sent the Australian dollar higher against the greenback, to trade at $0.7230. The Australian dollar is typically considered to be a liquid representative of the Chinese yuan.