finance
Oil Prices Hold Near $107
Brent crude oil traded around $107 per barrel Wednesday as escalating conflict in the Middle East lifted energy prices and the U.S. dollar while pressuring equities and cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin held above $76,000 support even as it fell 1 percent to roughly $80,800. European gas industry groups urged the EU to ease winter storage refill mandates citing reduced global LNG supply from the war.
May 13, 4:30 AM·2m read3 sources
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Oil prices remained near $107 a barrel Wednesday as escalating Middle East tensions continued to ripple through global markets. Brent crude climbed on the news that the ceasefire with Iran was on "massive life support," according to President Donald Trump, sending the U.S. Dollar Index 0.4 percent higher and weighing on risk assets.
Bitcoin fell around 1 percent to $80,800 while ether dropped 2 percent to $2,290. Most altcoins declined further, though CRO, CRV and TON posted gains of 5 percent to 10 percent. U.S. equity futures also dropped amid the flight to safety. CoinDesk’s DeFi and Computing sector indexes led losses in crypto, with JUP, MON and SEI each falling more than 5 percent amid thin liquidity.
Market-wide notional open interest in crypto futures rose to $125 billion even as trading volumes slipped 6 percent to $174 million.
European Union gas industry lobby groups asked Brussels to relax mandatory storage refill targets as the Middle East war curtails global LNG supply. The EU requires member states to fill gas storage to 90 percent of capacity by November each year to prepare for winter demand.
Current storage stands at 35.57 percent, well below five-year averages. The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers and Eurogas called for greater flexibility in the rules, including earlier activation of existing deviation allowances of up to 15 percentage points when market conditions are challenging.
They argued that demand aggregation and diversification measures should remain voluntary to avoid distorting price signals needed to attract LNG cargoes. "To maximize price relief, flexibilities should be activated by the commission and member states as soon as possible, early in the storage season," the organizations said in a statement.
The plea comes ahead of an informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Cyprus to assess the bloc’s energy supply situation. The VIX equity volatility gauge jumped more than 10 percent this week to nearly 19, though it remains below recent peaks above 30.
