Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Oil down as Trump leads in knife-edge US vote

-

Oil prices were down in Asia on Wednesday as Republican candidate Donald Trump appeared poised to beat Democratic rival and market favourite Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

Global financial markets went into a tailspin after partial election results increasingly pointed to a shock win by billionaire Trump.

At around 0615 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December was down $1.22 at $43.76 and Brent crude for January tumbled $1.08 to $44.96 a barrel.

"This is very much a step into the unknown because we simply can't know what type of president Trump will be," research firm Capital Economics said in a note.

"Will he be the demagogue from the campaign trail, who threatened to lock up his political opponents, punish the media, build border walls and start a global trade war?" it said.

"Or is he capable of becoming a statesmanlike figure who leads in a more measured manner?"

Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, told AFP oil will be under pressure as it is not a safe-haven asset like gold, whose price has risen.

"I guess we're going to see continued sell-off in commodities and oil is one of them," he said.

Oil prices were down in Asia on Wednesday as Republican candidate Donald Trump appeared poised to beat Democratic rival and market favourite Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

Global financial markets went into a tailspin after partial election results increasingly pointed to a shock win by billionaire Trump.

At around 0615 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December was down $1.22 at $43.76 and Brent crude for January tumbled $1.08 to $44.96 a barrel.

“This is very much a step into the unknown because we simply can’t know what type of president Trump will be,” research firm Capital Economics said in a note.

“Will he be the demagogue from the campaign trail, who threatened to lock up his political opponents, punish the media, build border walls and start a global trade war?” it said.

“Or is he capable of becoming a statesmanlike figure who leads in a more measured manner?”

Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, told AFP oil will be under pressure as it is not a safe-haven asset like gold, whose price has risen.

“I guess we’re going to see continued sell-off in commodities and oil is one of them,” he said.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

World

Until the Second Coming of Jeffrey Epstein, you’ll just have to put up with economic realism.