Oil prices edged higher on Monday morning in Asia as investors remain wary of the trade war sparked on Friday between the U.S. and China. Production disruptions in Libya and Canada also sent prices upwards. U.S. WTI futures were up 0.22 percent to $73.96 per barrel while Brent crude futures were up 0.41 percent as of 10:09 a.m. HK/SIN, to trade at $77.43 per barrel.
As reported by CNBC, Tom Kloza from the Oil Price Information Service recently noted that oil prices could soar another 10 percent over the summer, and that this type of rally could have a direct impact on gas prices. Kloza told CNBC that Brent could potentially price at over $80 per barrel in the near term. Kloza accurately predicted the oil price crash of 2015 and confirmed his continued bullish stance on the commodity last week.
"We’re going to spend about $50 billion more as a country on gasoline than last year.” Kloza said. “It’s still cheap compared to those Arab spring and Iranian sanctions of years 2011 to 2014. But $50 billion is a lot of change.”
Currency Movements
On the currency markets, the dollar traded mixed against most of its primary currency pairs. The euro was higher against the greenback, trading at $1.1761. The dollar was basically flat against the yen, trading at 110.43 after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced that the central bank would keep up its ultra-loose monetary policy until the 2 percent inflation rate is reached. The dollar index was down 0.08 percent to 93.90 .DXY.