MW: Crude futures recover to $89 after big selloff
By Polya Lesova and Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose Thursday, rebounding from their sharp drop in the previous session, as the Syrian-Turkish conflict raised some concerns about supply from the Middle East.
Crude for November delivery CLX2 +0.91% rose 94 cents to $89.08 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
The gains come after oil prices plunged $3.75 a barrel, or 4.1%, on Wednesday, pressured by technical selling and worries about demand. See: Oil prices end at two-month low.
Hostilities between Syria and Turkey commanded the spotlight.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Turkish parliament backed a measure to give the prime minister broad power to send troops into Syria.
Turkey shelled targets inside Syria for a second day Thursday after forces loyal to the Syrian regime hit a Turkish town the previous day and killed five people, according to the Journal.
“The hostilities between Syria and Turkey could reinforce supplies fears, as a number of pipelines cross the region,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note to clients. “We therefore envisage prices recovering provided that the general market environment does not deteriorate after today’s [European Central Bank] meeting.”
The European Central Bank left its key lending rate unchanged at 0.75%.
In a news conference, ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank’s bond-buying plan has helped ease tensions in euro-zone financial markets. He also reiterated that the euro is “irreversible.” Read: ECB rates on hold; Draghi in spotlight
In the U.S., data showed that initial jobless claims rose to 367,000 last week from 363,000, slightly less than economists expected.
At 2 p.m. Eastern, the Federal Open Market Committee will release minutes from its September policy meeting when it launched a third round of asset purchases, known as quantitative easing, in an effort to stimulate economic growth and reduce the U.S. unemployment rate. See: Five things to watch in the Fed minutes.
Elsewhere in the energy complex, November futures for gasoline RBX2 +2.62% rose 7 cents to $2.87 a gallon, while November heating oil HOX2 +1.74% climbed by 5 cents to $3.12 a gallon.
Natural-gas futures for November delivery NGX12 +1.33% rose 5 cents to $3.44 per million British thermal units.
Polya Lesova is MarketWatch's New York deputy bureau chief.
Robert Daniel is MarketWatch's Middle East bureau chief, based in Tel Aviv.
