Oil reversed early losses of almost 4% and was traded above $46 a barrel on Wednesday, as the market recovered from the initial reaction to Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election.
The dollar however steadied and European stocks pared losses.
Brent crude (LCOc1) was up seven cents at $46.11 a barrel by 0625 ET, after falling to $44.40, the lowest since August 11.
U.S. crude (CLc1) gained 1 cent to $44.99.
Olivier Jakob, analyst at consultancy Petromatrix, commented on Trump’s victory:
There are a lot of unknowns about what will be the Trump position in the geopolitics of the Middle East.
President Obama from the start of his election worked towards a detente with Iran and we can’t be sure that President Trump will continue in the same direction.
Oil prices are less than half of their level of mid-2014, pressured by excess supplies.