(New York) Oil prices jumped on Monday, in a market yet deprived of important news, because of a movement linked, in part, to the resumption of speculative purchases.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in August appreciated by 1.97%, to close at $84.25.
A barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), due in July, rose 2.39% to $80.33, crossing the $80 mark for the first time in three weeks.
The session started in the red, after the publication of Chinese indicators considered disappointing for several of them.
Industrial production thus increased by 5.6% year-on-year in May, compared to 6.7% in April, while economists saw it increasing by 6.2%. High-tech sectors have clearly stalled, their growth rate dropping from 10.0% to 1.3%.
In addition, investments in real estate fell by 10.9% in May, after having already fallen by 10.4% the previous month.
But against all expectations, in a context devoid of new news, the prices of black gold recovered, before gaining speed until the close.
“The market feels like it reacted too harshly” after the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in the OPEC+ agreement on June 2, explains Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
Operators also noted that speculative players had somewhat rebalanced their positions, with upward contracts on WTI having increased by 10%, according to figures made public on Friday by the American regulator of financial derivatives, the CFTC.
“There have been a lot of liquidations in the last two weeks, so some are coming back into the market,” according to Andy Lipow.
“We must keep in mind that OPEC can still change its mind and extend its voluntary production cuts until the end of the year,” warns the analyst.
At the beginning of June, OPEC+ announced that these reductions, which concern 2.2 million barrels per day, would gradually disappear from October.
Beyond market fundamentals, crude oil also benefited from a slight decline in the dollar, the reference currency of black gold, as well as a return of appetite for risk, which notably enabled equities to recover and causes bonds to weaken on Wall Street.