Oil Jumps 4% as Tanker Attacks, Hurricane Threat Offset Trump's Iran Comments
USOI is trading near its 52-week low of $41.9 (8.7% above the low) on light trading volume (0.3× avg).
Summary
Crude oil futures surged ~4% on Thursday, with Nymex crude settling at $91.49/bbl and Brent at $104.28/bbl, despite President Trump's statement that the U.S. will not attack Iran before the midterms. The rally was driven by reports of increased Iranian attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and a hurricane threatening U.S. Gulf Coast refiners. The U.S. Treasury also imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, targeting 17 vessels involved in transporting Iranian crude. Strait of Hormuz crude transit fell 27% from its wartime high to at least 10.1M bbl/day, though Gulf of Oman and Red Sea exports helped keep overall Middle East crude exports at pre-war levels. For USOI, an ETN linked to crude oil covered calls, the sharp rise in crude prices directly boosts the underlying index, though the covered call strategy may cap some upside. This follows a series of supply-disruption headlines over the past month, including Saudi production collapse and G7 emergency stock releases, keeping oil markets highly volatile.
At the time of this announcement, USOI was trading at $45.55 on NASDAQ in the Energy & Transportation sector. The 52-week trading range was $41.90 to $61.30. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Seeking Alpha.