Finance
Oil jumps nearly 2% as traders expect China stimulus to boost demand
Oil jumped nearly 2% on Tuesday before paring gains after China announced its biggest stimulus package since the early days of the pandemic, raising prospects of increased demand.
On Tuesday, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose to trade above $71 per barrel. Brent (BZ=F), the interventional benchmark price, also gained to hover north of $75.
The People’s Bank of China unveiled a new stimulus package aimed at revitalizing the nation’s economy, which is suffering from deflation and a slumping real estate market.
“Stalled Chinese growth has been one of the primary banes of the oil market all year,” OPIS global head of energy analysis Tom Kloza told Yahoo Finance.
Oil prices have been volatile this month. WTI rebounded more than 4% last week amid lingering production shut-ins.
A jumbo rate cut announcement by the Federal Reserve helped buoy crude markets on the prospects of growing economic activity.
Escalating tensions in the Israel war against Hamas and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants also put upward pressure on oil.
On Monday, prices pulled back after Iran’s president said he’s ready to deescalate tensions with Israel if the other side agreed to the same. Iran produces roughly 3 million barrels of oil a day.
Meanwhile, the looming threat of tropical storm Helen, expected to reach hurricane status, appears to be headed toward the coast of Florida and is expected to make landfall on Thursday.
“The Hurricane looks to be a demand-destroyer and not a supply destroyer and indeed our private OPIS data is suggesting that gasoline demand is down perhaps a few percentage points from last year,” said Kloza.
Gasoline prices, which have been on downward trend, hovered around $3.21 per gallon on Tuesday, roughly $0.64 lower than a year ago, according to AAA data.
Prices at the pump are expected to fall further as gas stations sell a cheaper winter blend. More oil is expected to enter the market if OPEC+ starts to unwind some of its production cuts during the last month of the year.
“I still very much believe that we will see sub-$3/gal gasoline in October, November and December,” said Kloza.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* When it comes to campaign finance laws, both parties’ campaign committees have faced restrictions on how much money they could spend in coordination with candidates’ campaigns. Those limits are now effectively gone.
As MS NOW’s Jordan Rubin explained, “The Supreme Court’s GOP-appointed majority ruled for Republicans in their campaign finance challenge to restrictions on political parties spending on ads with input from the party’s candidate.”
A Punchbowl News report added that the ruling, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, “handed Republicans a massive win” and is likely to “usher in the biggest change to campaign finance law since the Citizens United decision.”
The same report went on to note that Tuesday’s high court ruling “allows for unrestricted coordination between candidates and party committees. That means committees, like the NRSC or the DCCC, can run unlimited TV ads with allied candidates. More importantly, they can also buy those ads at the much cheaper rate offered to candidates. … Tuesday’s SCOTUS ruling will also eradicate the need for independent expenditure arms at party committees.”
Republicans already enjoyed a significant financial advantage over Democrats. The Republican-appointed justices just made it easier for the GOP to capitalize on that advantage.
* In Colorado’s closely watched Democratic primaries, incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper fended off a challenge from the left, but some of his colleagues weren’t as fortune: Democratic socialist Melat Kiros ended long-serving Rep. Diana DeGette’s career in Denver’s congressional district, while state Attorney General Phil Weiser scored a major upset by defeating incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in a gubernatorial primary.
* In the race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leads former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in the latest New York Times/Siena poll, 50% to 43%, pointing to a possible pickup opportunity for Democrats.
Google Cloud and FactSet, a provider of data and artificial intelligence solutions to the financial markets, plan to jointly develop AI agents designed to assist with portfolio operations, deal advisory and corporate finance.
Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling changing certain federal campaign finance limits could make a big difference in the battle for control of Congress this fall, giving Republican candidates who have been getting outraised by opponents direct access to more party cash.
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