Oil Price Rises by Nearly 4% in Trading Alert

On Friday (October 11th), during the early morning trading session in Asia, international oil prices fluctuated within a narrow range, with US crude oil currently trading at $75.62 per barrel. Oil prices surged by nearly 4% on Thursday, supported by a significant increase in fuel consumption in the United States ahead of Hurricane Milton sweeping through Florida, risks to supply in the Middle East, and signs that energy demand in the US and China may grow. Brent crude futures rose by $2.82 on Thursday, a 3.7% increase, settling at $79.40 per barrel; US crude futures rose by $2.61 on Thursday, a 3.6% increase, settling at $75.85 per barrel.

Hurricane Milton swept through Florida, leaving about a quarter of the state's gas stations with no gasoline, and the storm also caused power outages for more than 3.4 million households and businesses. Analysts at the energy consulting firm Ritterbusch and Associates stated in a report: "Given the extensive power outages, the impact on supply from the closure of some product terminals, delays in tanker transportation, and disruptions in pipeline transportation may continue into next week." The company said: "This significant uncertainty in Florida's oil infrastructure generally supports gasoline prices." US gasoline futures closed up about 4.1% on Thursday, leading the increase among various energy sources. Gulf states are lobbying Washington to prevent Israel from attacking Iran's oil bases, fearing that if the conflict escalates, their own oil facilities may be attacked by Tehran's allies. On Thursday, the National Development and Reform Commission of the Asian powerhouse, along with the Ministry of Justice and other departments, released a draft for comments on the Promotion of Private Economy Law, supporting the participation of private economic organizations in national major strategies and major projects, and optimizing the investment and financing environment for the private economy. Market confidence in the Federal Reserve's rate cut in November has strengthened, following data showing an increase in the number of initial jobless claims in the US last week and the smallest year-on-year price increase since February 2021. Investors need to continue to pay attention to geopolitical news, changes in US crude oil rig data, US September PPI data, and the preliminary value of the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for October in the US, while also keeping an eye on monetary data such as China's M2 and social financing scale, and continue to monitor speeches by Federal Reserve officials.