HIGHLIGHTS Risk Appetite: Global stocks wavered again Friday after days of oscillating between steep losses and gains, pulling the oil complex in both directions. Oil had risen early in the day alongside stocks, but erased its advance when major U.S. indexes turned negative—but then climbed late in the session as stocks rebounded. Amid jitters about the global economy and oil demand, stocks and commodities have increasingly been moving in tandem during this quarter’s punishing selloff. Both U.S. and Brent prices are about 40% below their Oct. 3 multiyear highs. “There’s a very strong push along in equities” and the oil price rise is “just a function of that,” said Olivier Jakob, head of oil consulting firm Petromatrix. He cautioned that thin trading volumes as a result of the holiday period would likely continue to fuel volatility through next week. An oil pump jack operates near Calgary, Canada. Photo: reuters photographer/Reuters Analysts at consulting firm JBC Energy noted: “Year-end trading has been volatile before and at this moment in time we do not want to be too quick in reading a whole lot into the price action of the last few days.” U.S. Inventories: Stockpile figures from the U.S. Energy […]
