Speaking later that afternoon, Trump said that civil unrest in Iran was subsiding.
Brent crude oil prices rose $1.05, or 1.6%, to $66.52 per barrel at the close of trading. WTI crude oil prices increased 87 cents, or 1.42%, to $62.02 per barrel. The gains stemmed from concerns about potential disruptions to Iranian supplies amid the possibility of a US attack on Iran and retaliatory actions targeting US interests in the region.
However, as soon as the official trading session closed, Brent crude oil prices reversed course, falling 92 cents, or 1.41%, to $64.55 per barrel at 3:18 PM Eastern Time (3:18 AM on January 15th in Vietnam). At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil also fell 96 cents, or 1.57%, to $60.19 per barrel.
Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group, commented: “The market currently believes an attack on Iran is unlikely, so stocks are surging while oil prices are plummeting.” Nevertheless, tensions between Iran and the US remain high. A US official said the US has withdrawn forces from several key bases in the region as a precautionary measure against escalating tensions.
In a report, Citi Group analysts suggested that the protests in Iran risk tightening the global oil supply-demand balance, initially through localized supply disruptions, but primarily due to fears of political instability driving higher prices in the market as a hedge against risk. However, the analysts noted that the protests have not yet spread to key oil-producing regions of Iran, so the actual impact on supply remains limited.
Oil prices also received some support after Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari expressed optimism about the economic outlook and suggested that inflation would continue to cool. However, the upward momentum was limited by data showing that US crude oil and gasoline inventories both increased more sharply than expected last week. The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) stated that increased refining activity and imports were the main reasons. According to the EIA, US crude oil inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 422.4 million barrels last week (ending January 9th), contrary to expectations of a 1.7 million barrel decrease in a Reuters survey. Gasoline inventories also increased by 9 million barrels to 251 million barrels, significantly higher than the 3.6 million barrel increase forecast by the market.
Additionally, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Venezuela has begun reversing production cuts implemented during the US embargo and resuming oil exports. Two supertankers left Venezuelan waters on Monday, each carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil. These could be the first shipments under a 50 million barrel oil supply agreement between Venezuela and the US, aimed at restoring export flows following the US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/da-tang-gia-dau-bi-chan-lai-khi-cang-thang-dia-chinh-tri-ha-nhiet-20260115075339720.htm
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