The Commodities Feed: Oil near $90 on escalating Middle East risks
Energy – Brent near $90/bbl on supply risks ICE Brent traded just below $90/bbl in early Asian trading, extending Monday’s gains. Prices remained supported by renewed fighting in Lebanon and attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns over regional supply disruptions and complicating prospects for a US-Iran deal. Several vessels, including ships ...
Oil prices hovered near $90 per barrel on Tuesday as concerns mounted over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East. The Brent crude benchmark traded slightly below $90 in early Asian trading, buoyed by escalating fighting in Lebanon and attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. This heightened geopolitical tension has investors wary about the stability of oil supplies in the volatile region.
Speculative trading intensified as money managers boosted their long positions in Brent crude by 76,026 lots to 240,748 lots, marking the largest bullish stance since early June. In the US, the NYMEX WTI crude market also saw an increase in net long positions by 2,665 lots, indicating a growing bullish sentiment among traders.
On the supply side, the US oil rig count rose to 455 active rigs, marking the third consecutive weekly increase. This surge in drilling activity suggests a potential boost in domestic production, albeit slightly behind the levels seen a year ago. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts US crude oil production to average 13.8 million barrels per day in 2026, up from 13.6mb/d in 2025 and continuing to climb to 14.2mb/d in 2027.
Meanwhile, in the metals market, copper prices surged to a record high of $14,396 per tonne, driven by acute supply tightness. The LME copper price rose 1.7% this morning, with the cash/3M spread widening to a backwardation of $518.5 per tonne, the strongest since October 2021. This indicates strong demand and limited supply, pushing prices higher. LME inventories, already at their lowest since February, have continued to dwindle, further tightening the supply chain.
Speculative positioning in copper remained bullish, with money managers increasing net long COMEX copper positions by 3,084 lots to 80,880 lots, the highest since February 2021. In precious metals, gold saw a notable rise in speculative long positions, with net long COMEX gold positions increasing by 9,470 lots to 141,868 lots. Silver, on the other hand, showed a slight decrease in net long positions.
Written by urgent.news from Hellenic Shipping News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.