The price of a barrel of Brent oil, which rose to $80.30 yesterday, closed the day at $79.52. The price of a barrel of Brent oil increased by 0.71 percent compared to the closing price at 09:43, reaching $80.09. At the same time, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil found buyers at $76.92.
Concerns that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East could spread to a wider area and the expectation that the decisions of the Central Banks to reduce interest rates will stimulate economic activity are effective in increasing prices.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, where most of the oil reserves are located, have flared up again after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau in Tehran. While Iran and the Hamas Movement hold Israel responsible for the assassination, Israeli officials have not made a statement on the incident.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that initial investigations into the assassination of Haniyeh determined that the assassination was carried out with a rocket fired from the air to the ground.
On the other hand, the Bank of England (BoE) lowered its policy rate by 25 basis points to 5 percent, in line with expectations, and made the first interest rate cut since March 2020. Thus, the BoE reduced interest rates from the highest level in 16 years yesterday.
US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell said on July 31 that US interest rates could be lowered in early September. Low interest rates are expected to reduce borrowing costs, increasing economic activity and oil demand. While it is almost certain that the Fed will cut interest rates by 75 basis points in total by the end of the year, there is a 30 percent chance that a 50 basis point rate cut could be made at the September meeting.
Despite mixed inflation data, there is a 95 percent chance that the European Central Bank (ECB) will cut interest rates again in September.
Data indicating an increase in oil demand in the United States, the world’s largest oil consuming country, continues to be effective in increasing prices.
It is stated that technically, the resistance range for Brent oil can be observed between $81.07 and $82.62, while the support range can be observed between $78.70 and $76.33.
