(London) Oil prices moved up slightly on Friday, an encouraging development on the issue of the US debt ceiling distancing the prospects of a US default.
Around 6:50 a.m. (Eastern time), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in July, took 1.17% to 76.75 dollars.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in June, gained 1.14% to 72.68 dollars.
The two global crude benchmarks benefited from “renewed optimism about the ability of the United States to avoid a default”, explains analyst Han Tan, from Exinity.
On Thursday, a prominent Republican leader said he saw “a breakthrough” in the talks to avoid a default by the United States, but political tensions continue, even within the conservative camp and the Democratic party.
The country is currently mired in a political crisis over the issue of the US debt ceiling.
Congress has the prerogative to authorize the United States, the world’s largest borrower, to issue more debt by raising the limit on its borrowings.
The U.S. government expects the federal debt ceiling to be reached as soon as 1er June if not relieved by then.
“Even if the current stalemate does not initially impact the macro economy, warnings that the unresolved debt ceiling situation could be ‘catastrophic’ have clear implications for financial markets,” says Jameel Ahmad, analyst at CompareBroker.io.
“If financial markets pull back due to the political impasse over the debt ceiling, expect oil to be one of the first assets investors will abandon,” he warns.
On the natural gas side, the Dutch TTF futures contract, considered the European benchmark, remained stable at 30.25 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).
The day before, European gas had reached a new low for almost two years, at 29.69 euros per MWh, thanks to the comfortable level of storage in Europe and the rise in temperatures which continues to curb demand as it approaches. of summer.