Oil prices rose on Friday, with crude oil futures finishing on a bright note in the month of May. Monthly gains were recorded based on hopes that the U.S.–China trade deal wouldn’t be distorted, and the fact crude oil production was falling.
Brent crude recorded a surge of 39% for its strongest monthly gains since March 1999.
Brent crude contract ended at $37.84, gaining $1.81, or roughly 5%. It saw steep monthly gains due to falling global crude oil production and expectations for demand growth around the world.
“Oil demand has bottomed out and supplies from OPEC+ and North America is falling sharply. The market is thus no longer as oversupplied as feared,”said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch, adding that there could be a considerable supply deficit in the second half of 2020.
“The rise in demand may be painstakingly slow in the coming weeks and months, but it is expected to gradually rise over the course of the year,” said Marshall Steeves, energy markets analyst at IEG Vantage.
However, America’s leader, Trump, said his government would begin to remove the special treatment which Hong Kong enjoyed, in response to China’s plans to impose new security laws on the territory but didn’t mention anything about distorting the trade deal between U.S and China.
“There was a lot of nervousness going into this press conference, so it looks like the worst-case scenario doesn’t appear to be emerging,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York.
