Oil Steadies as Traders Track Risk-On Tone and Storm Francine

(Bloomberg) -- Oil held a one-day gain as a risk-on tone returned to wider financial markets, while a storm menaced some supplies in the Gulf of Mexico.

Brent was steady below $72 a barrel after rising more than 1% on Monday to snap a six-day losing streak, with West Texas Intermediate near $69. US share markets rebounded on Monday from a steep decline spurred by concerns that US growth was slowing just as China’s economy faltered.

Tropical Storm Francine strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico, spurring drillers to evacuate crews as forecasters increased the intensity outlook for a system now expected to hit Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane. On its expected track, Francine may rake nine major platforms.

Global benchmark Brent closed at the lowest since 2021 on Friday as concerns intensified about restrained demand in major economies and abundant supply. The market’s increasingly bearish tone spurred Wall Street banks to pare price forecasts for the coming quarters, while the OPEC+ cartel was forced to delay a planned restart of some of its shuttered output from October.

“Oil prices remain stuck in their cautious tone this morning, failing to tap on the relief rally in the risk environment,” said Yeap Jun Rong, a market stategist for IG Asia Pte in Singapore. “Eyes have been on the risks of supplies disruption with Tropical Storm Francine, but apart from that, there just has not been much conviction for dip-buying.” 

At the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore this week, most speakers have been cautious about the market outlook. Among them, Ben Luckock, head of oil at Trafigura Group — one of the world’s top traders — warned that Brent was probably going to slip into the $60s “relatively soon”.

In addition to APPEC, traders will scrutinize the monthly market outlook from OPEC, which is due for release later Tuesday.

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