LONDON: Crude oil prices rose on Friday for the first time in seven days, but trading remains volatile less than a week before Britain goes to the polls over the country's EU membership.
Brent crude futures were up 69 cents at $47.88 a barrel at 0903 GMT after slumping 3.6 percent in the previous session.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 46 cents to $46.67 a barrel.
The contract fell 3.8 percent in the previous session. Both contracts are on track to fall around 5 percent this week. "It's mainly Brexit at the moment, at least until next Thursday, before people start to look at the more fundamental oil/commodity drivers again," ABN Amro senior energy economist Hans van Cleef said.
Analysts said investors had closed some short positions after a week of volatile trading, which helped bring about some correction in oil prices on Friday.
"We are seeing a bit of a recovery now with maybe some short positions being unwound," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney. The British pound rose from a two-month low after campaigning for June 23's so-called Brexit vote was suspended following the murder on Thursday of UK member of parliament Jo Cox, a vocal advocate for Britain to stay in the European Union.
Britain's top share index, the FTSE, rose from a four-month low, as stocks that have been hardest hit by concerns over Brexit rebounded following the shooting.
Global oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are putting small refineries on the auction block as they look to trim lower-margin assets in the face of headwinds from rising crude oil prices.
Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, is soliciting interest in its Burnaby, British Columbia, refinery and gasoline stations, the company told Reuters.
Shell is looking for buyers for its Martinez, California refinery, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters. Shell declined to comment.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.