Crude oil and refined product futures were up at midday Thursday as investors snapped up energy commodities and equities and the dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged.
The NYMEX December NYMEX West Texas Intermediate contract was up by $1.45 to $81.80/bbl as of 11:55 a.m. ET and January WTI was $1.40 higher at $81.50/bbl.
London-based January ICE Brent crude was up by $1.50 to $86.10/bbl and February Brent climbed $1.50 to $85.60/bbl.
Gasoline futures rebounded after a three-day decline, while diesel contracts are on track for a third consecutive gain.
The NYMEX December RBOB contract was up by 5.60cts to $2.2410/gal and January RBOB was 5.15cts higher at $2.2355/gal.
The NYMEX December ULSD was ahead by 6.55cts at $3.027/gal and January ULSD had added 5.85cts to $2.9495/gal.
The dollar index was off by 0.7% Thursday after the U.S. central bank said it would make no changes to interest rates for a second straight month.
A weaker dollar makes crude futures more attractive to investors holding non-U.S. currencies.
The Bank of England on Thursday said it would hold interest rates steady, though they remain at a 15-year high of 5.25%.
In downstream markets, PBF Energy Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Matt Lucey on Thursday said maintenance at the company’s 166,200 b/d Torrance and 157,000 b/d Martinez refineries in California is expected to be completed this month.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
–Reporting by Frank Tang, [email protected]; Editing by Jeff Barber, [email protected]
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