Brent up in price thanks to US state debt deal

Oil prices are rising on the morning of May 29 amid optimism about an increase in the US debt ceiling.

The price of July futures for Brent crude oil on London's ICE Futures Exchange stood at $77.53 a barrel, $0.58 (0.75 per cent) above the previous session's closing price. On May 26 those contracts were up $0.69 (0.9 per cent) to $76.95 a barrel, Interfax reports.

July WTI futures traded on NYMEX rose by $0.65, to $73.32 per barrel. The contract value grew by $0.84 (1.2%) to $72.68 per barrel at the end of previous session.

Brent contract grew 1.8 per cent and WTI gained 1.4 per cent at the end of the previous week.

Earlier, President Joe Biden announced that he had reached a budget agreement with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. According to him, this prevents the "worst possible crisis". that is, the possibility of a default on US government debt.

The negotiators are finalising the text of the bill, which will then go to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

It is expected that trading volume on May 29 will be lower than usual due to the fact that the USA and UK stock exchanges are closed for public holidays.

Meanwhile, the number of active oil rigs in the United States fell by five last week to 570, oilfield services company Baker Hughes said. That's the lowest since March 2022.