Blockade of the Suez Canal by a stranded ship generated a surge in oil

The price of oil is trading on Wednesday with an increase of more than 4%, up to 60 dollars a barrel, on a rebound from Tuesday’s sharp 6% drop.

At 2:05 p.m. GMT, the futures contracts WTI for delivery in May, the new benchmark month, they added $ 1.66 compared to the close of the day before.

The US benchmark crude was up despite the concerns about the return to childbirth in several European countries due to the coronavirus pandemic and the slowness of the vaccination campaign.

Wednesday’s rise can be attributed to a blockade caused by a ship in the Suez Canal, which disrupts the normal flow of crude oil and other products and causes delays in their delivery.

At least 15 ships remain stranded since a Panamanian container ship remained in the shipping channel on Tuesday morning due to bad weather and a sandstorm.

“The effect will probably be small and transient, as there are other sources and shipping routes (…) but if the blockade lasts more than a few days, it could have an impact on prices”said the analyst Bjornar Tonhaugen, of Rystad Energy.

For Kevin solomon, business analyst StoneX Group, “The impact on the oil market will be short-lived”. “At $ 70, the futures market had gone up too fast, but with oil at $ 60, it’s an opportunity to buy at much more attractive levels,” he said.

In contrast, investors received with discouraging American Petroleum Institute reserves data, who estimated a 2.9 million barrels increase last week when a drop was expected.

In the background of the session continues the tdue to a weaker than expected recovery in oil demand, which will depend on the evolution of the pandemic and restrictions in consuming countries.

Experts say lower prices would support a more cautious approach by the alliance OPEC +, which could decide to ease its production cuts at its next monthly meeting in early April.

(With information from EFE and Bloomberg)

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