Oil prices rebound from Fed-induced fall; BOE. SNB pause rate hikes

Investing.com — Oil prices rose Thursday, rebounding from the previous session’s sharp losses in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling interest rates would stay higher for longer than previously expected.

By 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the futures traded 1.5% higher at $90.97 a barrel, while the contract climbed 1.1% to $94.58.

BOE and SNB pause tightening cycles 

Confidence has returned to the market Thursday following the news that both the and the decided to keep interest rates unchanged at their policy-setting meetings.

The BOE halted a run of 14th consecutive increases, starting in December 2021, and the SNB ended its run of five consecutive increases since it began lifting rates out of negative territory in June 2022.

This raised hope that the era of monetary tightening in Europe may be coming to an end, potentially lifting economic activity and thus crude demand. 

Hawkish Fed stance hit market

This contrasted with the tone on Wednesday after the U.S. projected another quarter-percentage-point increase by year-end, while signaling that it will take longer than expected to start easing.

This stance, it is feared, may dampen economic growth and overall fuel demand, while also leading to the U.S. dollar surging to its highest since early March, making oil and other commodities more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Both benchmarks fell sharply then, but remain not far away from 10-month highs and on course for a fourth consecutive winning week given the continuous concerns on tight supply globally entering the fourth quarter.

Supply to remain tight

Production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies are set to continue until the end of the year, while data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its monthly drilling productivity report earlier this week, showed U.S. oil production from top shale-producing regions was on track to fall for a third month in a row in October to the lowest level since May 2023.

The EIA also reported on Wednesday that U.S. fell just over 2 million barrels last week, less than the over 5 million barrels forecast by the industry body American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, but still an indication that demand remains solid in the largest oil consumer in the world.

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