Oil Trades Near $50 After Biggest Quarterly Advance Since 2009

Crude futures traded near $50 a barrel on both sides of the Atlantic after the biggest quarterly gain since 2009.

Futures rose Friday after climbing 26% in New York and 25% in London during the three months ended June 30. Global markets have been in turmoil since the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union on June 23. U.S. crude supplies shrank a sixth week and production slipped to the lowest since September 2014, government data showed Wednesday. 

Supply disruptions and falling U.S. output have pushed prices up more than 75% from 12-year lows early this year. Canada restored production as wildfires eased and Nigeria agreed to a tentative cease-fire with militants. While pledges from central banks have halted a rout in global markets following the British decision to break with the EU, both the International Energy Agency and OPEC forecast the oil market is heading toward a supply-demand balance.

“We’ve taken back more than half of the drop that followed the Brexit referendum,” said Gene McGillian, a senior analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The market’s now in a holding pattern, trading within a couple dollars of $50. Attention will turn back to the fundamentals, such as rising Chinese and Indian growth, and the strong U.S. gasoline demand, which should bring the bulls back.”

U.S. Stockpiles

West Texas Intermediate for August delivery rose 17 cents to $48.50 a barrel at 10:09 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures are up 1.8% this week. The contract fell 3.1% to settle at $48.33 on Thursday. The total volume traded was 34% below the 100-day average.