Oil prices move up as investors grow edgy after weekend bombings on the U.S east coast and weekend expressions from OPEC. File photo by Monika Graff/UPI |
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NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Marking a course correction from big losses last week, oil prices staged a rally early Monday as investors grew anxious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve meetings.
Crude oil prices lost more than $2 per barrel last week as mid-2016 sentiments of a balanced market started to fade. Some market movements were softened somewhat by disruptions brought on by problems with the Colonial pipeline in Alabama, but balanced by a rebound in output from Libya and Nigeria, two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
OPEC ministers are gearing up for extraordinary meetings next week on the sidelines of an international energy conference in Algeria, where they're expected to consider artificial action to prop up slumping oil prices.
Speaking in Algeria during the weekend, OPEC Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo told the official Algerian Press Service he was "optimistic" about support for decisions that could lead to formal action from oil-producing nations. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in a separate statement, said OPEC and non-OPEC members alike were behind action that could lead to market stabilization.
The price for Brent crude oil gained 0.5 percent at the start of trading Monday to open at $46.01 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark price for crude oil, was up 0.3 percent to start trading in New York at $43.38 per barrel.
OPEC's minister cautioned, however, that next week's meeting was an informal one and not a forum at which formal decisions would be made.
Traders in New York, meanwhile, may be rattled by weekend bombings in and around the area. The FBI said Monday it was seeking the public's assistance in locating Ahmad Khan Rahami, an 28-year-old U.S. citizen of Afghan descent wanted in connection to New York City violence. The FBI said it considered Rahami to be armed and dangerous.
Nerves may be put further on edge ahead of policy statements from the U.S. Federal Reserve. A research note last week from J.P. Morgan said its economists don't expect a rate hike, though any rise would lift the value of the U.S. dollar and make oil more expensive for those doing business with non-U.S. currency.
