Oil markets see modest gains after Saudi price hike
Oil prices edged higher in Asian trading on Thursday after Saudi Arabia's state oil company sharply increased March prices.
However, the rise had little impact following the biggest drop in Brent crude prices in nearly three months the previous day, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Brent crude futures rose 8 cents to $74.69 a barrel by 0422 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 15 cents to $71.18 a barrel.
Oil prices had fallen more than 2% on Wednesday as a large build in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles signalled weaker demand, and as investors weighed the implications of a new round of U.S.-China trade tariffs, including duties on energy products.
Prices have plunged about 10% from the 2025 highs on January 15, five days before Donald Trump took over as U.S. President. Analysts expect markets to be volatile in the coming weeks.
"We can expect significant volatility in pricing over the coming weeks and months as markets scramble to weigh the impact of Trump's new policy positions, not least regarding tariff measures," analysts from BMI said in a note on Thursday.
A sharp increase in prices for Asian buyers by Saudi Aramco, the world's leading oil exporter, managed to stem Wednesday's sell-off.
"After the overnight sell-off and the Saudi news, there is likely to be some buying from traders covering shorts ahead of a strong band of support in the $70/68 region," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst with IG.
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