MCL: Where is oil price heading amid geopolitical tensions?

5 февр.

NYMEX: Micro Crude Oil ( MCL1!)
The price of a commodity is determined by its supply and demand. But in the case of crude oil, which is the lifeblood of the global economy, geopolitical risk carries a bigger impact.

Examples in present time: In February 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict sent crude oil up 72% to $124 a barrel. In October 2023, the Israel-Hamas conflict saw WTI price 40% higher to $94.

The rapid price rise following conflict eruption is called an “Event Shock”. Investors price crude oil in the worst-case scenario. Would it be the start of WW3, for the former event, and would the Gulf region oil production get cut off, for the latter event?

Typically, the fear for the worst is overblown. As the conflict progresses, oil prices tend to fall back down if that did not materialize. After the Western nations imposed embargo on Russian oil in 2022, Russia found new customers in India and China. We know that crude oil is a fungible commodity. The more the two countries buy from Russia, the less they will buy from the rest of the world. This helps keep the global oil supply in balance. Without a shortage, oil prices fell.

The Israel-Hamas conflict started in October 2023 so far has not dragged major oil producing nations into war. Even the Houthis Militia has been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, they would not strike oil tankers from the Arab nations. Therefore, neither oil production nor its transportation was interrupted, and oil prices fell as a result.

The previous Sunday, three US soldiers were killed, and more than 40 personnel injured in a drone attack at a US base in Jordan. The US vowed to retaliate. Last Friday, it has launched strikes on 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, in response to the drone attack. On Saturday, the US conducted air strikes to 30 targets in Yemen, the homebase of Houthis.

With the US now engaging in military actions to militia backed by Iran, the Mideast conflict could be escalated to a whole new level.

In addition to geopolitical risk, there are other tailwinds to support stronger oil prices: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut oil production last month as the group and its allies began a new effort to prevent a global surplus and shore up prices.

Output from the OPEC fell by 490,000 barrels a day (bpd) last month to 26.7 million bpd, according to a Bloomberg survey. About half the reduction came from Iraq and Kuwait. Led by Saudi Arabia, OPEC and its allies pledged to make additional production curbs this quarter, on top of reductions made last year.

In the meantime, oil traders will see headwind ahead: Data on Friday showed that U.S. employers added far more jobs in January than expected, reducing the chances of near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. High interest rates tend to dampen economic growth and reduce oil demand as well.

Oil prices fell by about 2% on Friday and posted weekly losses after U.S. jobs data release. WTI crude futures settled at $72.28 a barrel, falling $1.54, or 2%. The global crude oil benchmark lost roughly 7% on the week.

Trading with NYMEX Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures
At about $72 a barrel, crude oil price is now below the price level before the Israel-Hamas conflict. It is also lower than oil prices before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Is there a good reason why the price of the most strategically important commodity goes lower amid intensifying geopolitical tensions?

You may point out that oil demand may be dampened by the weak Chinese growth, but I would argue that the robust US economy would offset that.

Institution traders share my view. Money managers raised their combined futures and options oil position in NYMEX WTI and ICE Brent by 18,082 contracts to 117,226 in the week of January 30th, according to the Commitment of Trader (COT) report published by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

To express a view of rising crude oil price, we could consider a long position in NYMEX Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures (MMCL). The March contract (MCLH4) was settled at $72.42 last Friday. It declined further to $71.75 at the time of this writing. Each contract has a notional value of 100 barrels, or $7,175 at the current market price. CME Group requires an initial margin of $660 per contract.

Hypothetically, if the US strikes induce Iran retaliation and escalate the Mideast conflict, WTI futures could possibly go up above $90 a barrel. In this case, the $18 price increase (=90-72) would translate into $1,800 for a long futures position in NYMEX Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures (=18x100).

In my view, while the Fed may not cut interest rates immediately, it is still expected to lower rates at least 1 or 2 times, maybe at later meetings in 2024. Lower interest rates are also positive for oil prices.

However, if crude oil price continues to go down instead, each dollar of decline would result in a loss of $100 per contract.

Here are some extended readings on my previous trade ideas on crude oil:
October 9, 2023: Would the Middle East conflict push gold and oil prices higher?


October 16, 2023: MCO: Options Strategy to Capture Crude Oil Volatility


Happy Trading.

Disclaimers
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.

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