Oil Gains in Slow Year-End Trading With Focus on 2025 Risks

(Bloomberg) -- Oil rose in thin end-of-year trading, with investors assessing the outlook for 2025 while tracking developments in the Middle East.

West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.4% to settle near $71 a barrel, while Brent topped $74. A gauge of 10-day volatility for WTI ebbed to the lowest since July. 

In the Middle East, Israel struck targets in Yemen that it said were controlled by Houthis, including power stations, ports and the capital’s airport. The rebels have been menacing shipping in the Red Sea, forcing oil tankers onto longer routes around southern Africa.

Crude is on track for a modest annual loss, with trading confined in a narrow band since mid-October. There are widespread concerns the market may be oversupplied next year as China’s demand slows and global production expands, although traders remain cautious about potentially tighter US sanctions against flows from Iran under Donald Trump.

Energy Information Administration data showed US crude inventories fell 4.2 million barrels last week, while US Gulf refinery runs hit a five-year high. The prompt spread on West Texas Intermediate futures — with the nearby contract trading at a premium of more than 40 cents a barrel to the next in line — points to near-term supply tightness. 

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