Brent crude futures expiring in September rose to $94.25 per barrel at the time of writing, while WTI crude futures expiring in September were at $87.54 per barrel.
- Battalion Oil Corp. (BATL) and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) rose more than 3% and more than 1.5%, respectively.
- United States Oil Fund (USO) climbed more than 3% at the time of writing, while ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) rallied nearly 2% premarket.
- On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BATL, OXY, USO and UCO stocks was ‘bullish.’
Shares of major oil companies and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) climbed higher in the premarket session on Wednesday after Brent and WTI crude prices surged amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
Brent crude futures expiring in September rose more than 3.5% higher to $94.25 per barrel at the time of writing. Meanwhile, WTI crude futures expiring in September gained nearly 4% to break to $87.54.
As a result, oil companies Battalion Oil Corp. (BATL) and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) rose more than 3% and more than 1.5%, respectively. Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) also rose about 1%.
Meanwhile, the United States Oil Fund (USO), which tracks the daily price movements of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), climbed more than 3% at the time of writing, while ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) rallied nearly 2%. The Light, Sweet Crude Oil Futures (CL_F) were also up nearly 4% at the time of writing.
Rising Tensions In The Middle East Weigh On Oil Prices
Escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices to the highest level since early June. Earlier, the U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that it had carried out strikes on military targets in Iran for an 11th consecutive night to degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strait.
Speaking at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Philippines on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. remained committed to a diplomatic solution but alleged that Iran had violated the agreement concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s state news agency, meanwhile, warned that any U.S. strike on its nuclear or other critical facilities would be treated as a major escalation and could trigger retaliatory attacks against U.S. and allied assets.
Meanwhile, economist Peter Schiff noted the rising oil prices in a post on X on Tuesday, saying, “These trends will likely continue and are bearish for the economy and corporate earnings. How much longer can stock investors ignore this?”
“With no breakthroughs regarding Iran, the market focus returned to inflation over the last 24 hours, as Brent crude closed above $90/bbl for the first time in over a month, reviving fears about a wider stagflationary shock. And this morning we’ve seen a further rise above $92/bbl, so there’s little sign of oil prices easing as the U.S. confirmed overnight they’d completed an 11th consecutive evening of strikes against Iran,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said in a note on Wednesday, as per a CNBC report.
Meanwhile, ING analysts said that “mounting supply risks” in energy markets were dashing hopes for a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
“The disruptions facing the market don’t end in the Middle East. In the Black Sea, Russia’s CPC terminal has stopped receiving oil from Kazakhstan, with loadings suspended following ongoing attacks on tankers,” ING noted, as per CNBC.
OXY, BATL, USO, UCO: What’s Retail Saying?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BATL, OXY, XOM, USO and UCO stocks was ‘bullish’ over 24 hours.
One user said, “Oil is moving fast now. We need it to go suoerfast to get the algos and FOMO players back in.”
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Another user said, “$USO YESSAH here we go baby! USO to the MOON!!!”
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BATL stock is up more than 31% this year, and OXY stock has rallied by over 33%. USO and UCO have surged more than 86% and 118% year-to-date.
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