Crude oil futures were modestly higher Monday morning after falling by more than 8% last week.

The more heavily traded NYMEX December West Texas Intermediate contract was up by 73cts to $69.42/bbl at about 11:15 a.m. ET. The November WTI contract, which expires this week, was 74cts higher at $69.96/bbl. The December Brent contract was up by 64cts to $73.70 and the January contract added 67cts to $73.35/bbl.

Distillate contracts were leading the way higher in late morning trading with the NYMEX November ULSD contract up by 1.4cts to $2.1662/gal and the more-active December contract 1.59cts higher at $2.1779.

Gasoline futures were struggling to stay in positive territory, with the NYMEX December RBOB contract up by 0.3ct to $1.9691/gal and the November contract off by 0.42ct to $1.9978/gal in light trading.

Global demand concerns pressured petroleum futures last week. In addition to the drop in crude values, gasoline fell last week by about 7%, while diesel contracts gave back more than 8%.

Contracts were receiving some early support from a renewed focus on the possibility of escalating violence in the Mideast after Hezbollah launched a drone attack Saturday that struck near the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaking of classified U.S. information about Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike against Iran following that ountry's Oct. 1 missile attack against Israel.

Still, the market remains cautious because of continuing worries over global demand amid record U.S. oil production and a typical decline in motor fuel demand during the winter driving season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Prices also face headwinds from a strengthening dollar, which has bounced off recent lows against a basket of foreign currencies. 


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This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.


--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-21-24 1211ET