ALBAWABA – Oil prices rose about 3 percent to a one-week high on Friday on worries that the onslaught on Gaza could spiral into a wider conflict that could disrupt global crude supplies from the Middle East region, news agencies reported.
Brent futures rose $2.55 to $90.48 a barrel, according to Reuters, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.33 to $85.54.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium over WTI rose to its highest since March, raising demand for the United States (US) WTI crude.
Since then, the Google Brent Last Day Financial shows the crude has slipped to $90.07 per barrel, as of Sunday morning.
As for the US dollar, Bloomberg’s dollar index spot showed the greenback fallen 0.04 percent, on Sunday, to 106.5590.
Last week, the dollar was up close to a one-week high against a basket of currencies, Reuters reported, as benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields inched higher towards the 16-year peak of 5.0 percent.
Treasuries briefly breached the 5-percent threshold last Monday but soon slipped to 4.9506 percent.
Global financial markets have been gripped by a surge in US bond yields, pulling investment away from equities and into safe havens, as the Israeli occupation forces step up the onslaught on Gaza.
Israeli occupation forces invasion as onslaught on Gaza picks up threatens to light up tinderbox region and disrupt crude supplies, which has driven oil prices and weighed on the US dollar - AFP
This has helped drive the dollar index to its highest in almost a year earlier this month, though Reuters’ analysts see limited room for yields and the dollar to extend gains.
Risk sentiment receded as tech giant Alphabet slumped after its cloud division reported less-than-expected revenues and other mega-cap stocks also edged lower, while gold prices rose on risk-aversion driving money into safe havens.
The Australian dollar jumped last Wednesday after a surprisingly high reading for inflation stoked speculation about another interest rate hike, but quickly slid 0.74 percent on the day.
The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart after the Bank of Canada held its key overnight rate at 5.0 percent, as the US dollar last week gained 0.41 percent on the Canadian dollar.
Japan’s yen remained pinned near the closely watched 150 threshold, at 149.99 per dollar.
Overall, a weaker dollar means higher oil prices, and vice versa, as it makes crude more expensive for countries settling in other currencies, effectively lowering demand for oil.
