WTI crude settles up 66-cents to $81.93 per barrel
The market continues to ponder possible actions from the White House following weeks of threats aimed at OPEC+. In last week's OPEC meeting, producers didn't add any more crude beyond the 400k bpd planned and members appear to be comfortable continuing down that path.
Their argument is that oil prices need to stay high to encourage investment, or there will be a spike later like what we've seen in natural gas this year.
The White House has the option of an SPR release but I don't think that will work. The world market can absorb the supply and it would signal that the US running out of bullets.
The best path forward for the White House is to negotiate and Iran nuclear deal. That might involve a climb down but it will add barrels to the world market so long as OPEC doesn't respond by pumping less.
Technically, the resilience in oil has been impressive but this latest bounce still has some work to do (at least $83.40) to signal another potential leg higher.
