Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Jan. 18, as investors remained upbeat on the outlook for oil, while geopolitical tensions in the Ukraine and Middle East kept market watchers on their toes.
At 10:14 am Singapore time (0214 GMT), the ICE March Brent futures contract was up 47 cents/b (0.54%) from the previous close at $86.95/b, while the NYMEX February light sweet crude contract rose 83 cents/b (0.99%) from the Jan. 14 close at $84.65/b. US markets were closed for a holiday Jan. 17. After briefly dipping into negative territory in the intra-day Asian session Jan. 17, the front-month ICE Brent crude contract managed to pull away to settle 0.5% higher overnight. Crude prices have now added close to 12% in value since the start of the year. Geopolitical risks were on investors’ […]