Brent rebound stalls at $79

The early session rise in oil prices yesterday did not last. The move to just above $79 per barrel for Brent crude was not sustained and perhaps the lack of fresh news from the Red Sea helped to send it lower when added to the less than ebullient start to the year for the global equity markets and more especially those in China. So, Brent peaked at $79.06 yesterday morning and spent the rest of the day under the hammer. Brent later fell back to below $76 and settled $1.15 lower on the NYMEX exchange, at $75.89. It later fell to a low at $75.60 after that, but it has edged a little higher so far today. That said, the price action has been mostly sideways in Asian trading, with $75.60 to $76.06 covering the price action so far. As for how it pans out today is still a headline driven affair for the most part and so we could easily see it rebound again, if the news warrants it. At the same time, the price action seen yesterday was a clear warning if such news does not evolve. Brent for March delivery is currently trading at $75.83