Last week, the prices of the oil complex battled through achieving new year-to-date lows to ultimately record something of a mixed week. WTI remains the stalwart of the complex as it held above April 2023 numbers, but the rest of its compatriots trawled the depths into the pandemic numbers of 2021, with much of the disappointment still levelled at distillate contracts.
The largest oil-producing region and the most pivotal refinery hub in the US weathered the assault of Hurricane Francine relatively unscathed. The fact that the storm weakened shortly after landfall undeniably mitigated damage. The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimated that about 40% of the US Gulf Coast oil production came offline at one point.
A gust of hope blows through the wider suites, and it is to do with computer systems, rather than those of the weather variety. The news late in the trading day that the US government is contemplating sales of advanced microchips from Nvidia to Saudi Arabia has the investment tourists cock-a-hoop again and they pile back into the AI darling. The tech company's shares have rallied 8% overnight and how its fortune is the bellwether for bourse prices is a now well-practised commentary.
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