NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices jumped on Monday as supply issues took center stage following a week of sharp losses, while stocks and the dollar drifted higher with eyes on the upcoming Sino-U.S. trade talks.
FILE PHOTO: A trader works as a screen shows market data behind him at CMC markets in London, Britain, December 11, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo
Oil was bid higher as deadly anti-government unrest gripped Iraq, the second-largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The unrest in Iraq has begun to bring the so-called risk premium that supports prices back into focus, after supply concerns had eased in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s faster-than-expected recovery from attacks key oil facilities last month, said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
“There’s a lot of nervousness about the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, right now,” Kilduff said. “Oil prices have no choice but to go up.”
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 0.11% to $52.87 per barrel and Brent LCOc1 was last at $58.51, up 0.24% on the day.
Remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and minutes from the most recent Fed meeting will later this week keep traders searching for signs on what the central bank is considering in its upcoming meeting.
On Wall Street, major stock indexes edged higher clinging to comments from White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow regarding the state of the trade war with China.
Stocks were hit last week on concerns that softening U.S. manufacturing and services sector data were a harbinger for a slide to recession in the world’s largest economy. Strong jobs data on Friday softened the blow.
“Investors are somewhat tired of the same song and dance from the administration. They are not going to fully buy in until something materializes from the meeting,” said Matt Ruffalo, senior strategist at Clarfeld Financial Advisors in New Jersey.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 75.04 points, or 0.28%, to 26,648.76, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.54 points, or 0.22%, to 2,958.55 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 25.13 points, or 0.31%, to 8,007.61.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.71% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.21%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.15%.
Graphic: Global assets in 2019 – tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Graphic: Global currencies vs. dollar – tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Graphic: Emerging markets in 2019 – tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
Graphic: MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap – tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
The dollar was little changed against a basket of its peers, but Turkey’s lira slid to its lowest level against the dollar in more than a month after the White House said Ankara would soon launch unilateral military operations in northeast Syria.
The Turkish lira TRY= lost 2.39% versus the U.S. dollar at 5.84, its weakest in over a month. A move above 5.8577 would send the currency to its weakest since June.
U.S. President Donald Trump later threatened to “totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey” if Ankara does anything “off limits.”
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.15%, with the euro EUR= down 0.02% to $1.0974.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.42% versus the greenback at 107.41 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2303, down 0.23% on the day.
U.S. Treasury yields drifted higher, with benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last down 12/32 in price to yield 1.5528%, from 1.514% late on Friday.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.9% to $1,491.56 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 1.07% to $1,490.10 an ounce.
Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Collin Eaton in Houston, Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler and Nick Zieminski