WTI holds steady below $60bbls, focus on OPEC+ cuts

• WTI prices stabilising below $60 as markets take profits. 
• A de-escalation of the Persian Gulf crisis puts focus back to global reflation and OPEC+ cuts.

Oil prices plunged on Wednesday, with only a modest rebound in recent trade following reports of rockets hitting Green Zone in Baghdad. Oil was reversing the spike in yesterday's Asia trading after US President Donald Trump downplayed Iran's missile attack against US forces in Iraq.

Iran on Wednesday local time launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. WTI spiked to a high of $65.61 on the back of the attacks. 

Trump's address de-escalates Persian Gulf crisis

However, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday at the White House in the first address, following a prior Tweet, that no US casualties have resulted from the attack and that "Iran appears to be standing down," calling it "a good thing" for all parties concerned. The markets took this as de-escalation and as a result, WTI fell back to pre-attack levels down in the $59 handle. 

" The focus will promptly return to expectations for global reflation on the horizon, which along with OPEC+ cuts, provides the base-case for a range-bound market," analysts at TD Securities argued," adding, "The upside risk remains in Libya, where an escalating proxy war could pose an imminent threat to oil supplies, particularly as Turkish troops arrive in the country to support the GNA government. 

WTI levels

• Oil Price Analysis: WTI tumbles to $60 a barrel