Crude oil rises for first time in seven days

Friday, June 17, 2016 - 09:21 (EEST) Section: Latest news

Crude oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Friday for the first time in seven days as markets took a breather from concerns about the impact of Britain`s possible exit from the European Union, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures were up 38 cents, or 0.8%, at $47.57 a barrel at 0143 GMT after slumping 3.6% in the previous session, according to Reuters.
The contract is on track to fall more than 5.5% for the week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.6%, at $46.48. The contract fell 3.8% in the previous session and prices are down more than 5% so far this week, according to the report.
The British pound rose from a two-month low after campaigning for next week`s so-called Brexit vote was suspended following the murder on Thursday of UK member of parliament Jo Cox, who was a vocal advocate for Britain to stay in the European Union, Reuters writes.
Commodities across the board also posted gains, while equity benchmarks including Japan`s Nikkei stock average rose.
”We need to brace ourselves for further volatility,” said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney, as noted in the report.
”We are seeing a bit of a recovery now with maybe some short positions being unwound. It is certainly going to be a wild ride for investors and traders going into the June 23 decision,” he said.