Oil Markets Give Up Gains, US Stocks Closes Best Quarter

Yesterday, oil markets moved backwards giving up part of yesterday's gains, in light of the possible return of Lybian production and the advance of the Covid-19 outbreak around the world. On the other hand, the US stock markets closed the session in the positive territory, closing its best quarter in decades.

Oil markets movedThe blockade against the Libyan oil production could come to an end soon, or at least this is what the Libyan National Army has signaled lately. One of the leaders of the group stated that the Libyan oil export terminals were already reopened and that the leaders of the group are asking the army's commander to renegotiate the reopening of the oil fields that were shut down because of the blockade.

According to a Reuters poll that was published yesterday, analysts expect oil prices to consolidate around US $40 per barrel. Brent crude price would be around $40.41 this year, while the West Texas Intermediate crude oil average price will be at $36.10. Nevertheless, analysts highlighted that if the coronavirus crisis keeps advancing, this could push the governments to impose more restrictions, which could affect the oil demand in a significant way.

Moreover, the coronavirus outbreak keeps advancing around the world. At the moment, there are 10,592,134 confirmed infections as well as a death toll of 514,072. The United States leads the world in terms of the number of infections, with 2,727,996 confirmed cases, and a death toll of 130,123.

Some Western countries are reporting spikes in the number of cases, like the United States and Australia. Others, like New Zealand, seem to have the situation under control, however, fears for a second wave of the virus are still persistent in the markets.

The West Texas Intermediate Crude oil mix went down by 1.08 percent, closing Tuesday's session on the 39.27 level. Conversely, Brent oil futures went down by 1.34 percent, closing the session at the 41.15 level.

US stock markets closed the session in the positive territory, finishing its best quarter in two decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.85 percent, closing the session at the 25,812.88 level. Conversely, the S&P 500 closed at the 3,100.29 level, adding 1.54 percent during the session, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.96 percent, closing at the 10,156.85 level.

The geopolitical situation continues to be complicated. The situation in Hong Kong is escalating, given the opposition to the recently imposed security law. The United Kingdom decided to highlight its support to the people of Hong Kong, commenting that its very disappointed by the Chinese government's move.

“This is very disappointing,” said the UK's Secretary of State for Business, Alok Sharma, “Clearly this is not something that we wanted. We have also, as you know, made a commitment to the people of Hong Kong and that’s something we will stand by," he added.

Recently, the police of Hong Kong fired water cannons with the purpose of breaking up a protest against the Chinese government's decision. The police arrested 30 individuals, claiming that, among other infractions, they broke the new law.

Ibeth Rivero

Ibeth contributes daily market commentary in both English and Spanish (both of which she speaks fluently) and she also manages the DailyForex mobile app to ensure that traders around the world are getting important market updates in real time.