(Bloomberg) — Oil held gains near the highest level in over three months after another Houthi strike in the Red Sea, with tensions in the key region for crude production and trade continuing to simmer.
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Brent traded above $83 a barrel after three days of gains, while West Texas Intermediate was near $79. The crew of the Rubymar abandoned the vessel after the attack Sunday evening, the first such evacuation since the Yemen-based group started targeting ships late last year.
Crude has been trapped in a tight $10-a-barrel range since the start of the year as competing bullish and bearish factors lead to a decline in volatility. Signs of poor demand — most notably from top importer China — has been countered by geopolitical tensions and efforts by OPEC+ to trim output.
“The market is in a bit of a wait-and-see mode for now,” said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Kansas-based Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC. “The next thing traders are looking out for is what OPEC+ decides to do at their next output policy meeting.”
The group and its allies will meet in early March to decide whether to extend output cuts into the second quarter. Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, has pledged to improve its compliance with the curbs after the nation completes a review of external estimate of its production, according to its oil minister.
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