Crude-oil futures erased early sharp losses to trade around unchanged as Donald Trump's victory eliminated uncertainty over a prolonged and contested election that could have disrupted financial and energy markets.
The oil market also recouped early losses Wednesday of more than $2 after the latest Energy Information Administration data showed stocks of crude oil and gasoline increased last week.
December Nymex West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 5cts to around $71.95/bbl and January WTI eased by a similar amount to $71.50/bbl.
London-based ICE Brent for January delivery was off 25cts to $75.30/bbl and February Brent also fell by a similar amount to $74.90/bbl.
Earlier, WTI and Brent both slid by more than $2 as the U.S. dollar index jumped nearly 2% to a four-month high as investors piled into trades aligned with Trump's promised policies, including higher tariffs and tax cuts.
Prior to Wednesday, both crude-oil benchmarks had finished higher for five straight sessions.
December Nymex RBOB dropped 0.35ct to $2.0415/gal and January RBOB decreased 0.8ct to $2.0150/gal. December ULSD was lower by 1.8cts to $2.2865/gal and January ULSD slipped 1.6cts to $2.297/gal.
Sharply higher U.S. equities also prompted some investors to buy energy futures. By midday, the S&P 500 equities index was up by more than 2%.
The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rafael has strengthened into a Category 2 storm and is expected to become a major hurricane when it makes landfall in western Cuba later Wednesday. While it is likely to weaken over the island, NHC said it is expected to emerge into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico as a hurricane.
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 Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-06-24 1310ET
