Crude expands, Brent tops $86.50/b

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Crude oil futures opened the new month higher, extending solid gains from the first week of June.

First month September 24 ICE Brent futures were trading at $86.63/b (1820 GMT), compared with Friday’s settlement of $85.00/b and gains of about 6% last month.

At the same time, August 24 NYMEX WTI trade at $83.49/bversus Friday’s settlement of $81.54/b.

Prices rose for a third week as oil markets rebounded strongly from early June lows on optimism about rising demand as investors braced for a first US interest rate cut this quarter .

Fund money also poured into oil futures, supporting the uptrend.

“The oil market managed to close higher for the third week in a row as expectations for a tighter market continued to attract speculative money. The latest positioning data shows that net long money managed in ICE Brent increased by 18,150 lots in the last reporting week to 158,371 lots,” said Warren Patterson, Head of Commodity Research at ING.

Meanwhile, Beryl was declared a hurricane over the weekend by the US National Hurricane Center, making it one of the first Atlantic hurricanes on record.

After a rapid intensification, Beryl has been upgraded to Category 4 as it heads for the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tension remains high amid reports that US military bases in Europe could be targeted.

“All US military bases in Europe have been put on high alert due to a potential terrorist attack. There is credible information indicating an attack against US bases in Europe in the next week or so,” a US defense official told Fox News.