Oil prices rise 1pc in thin pre-holiday trade

Dec 25: Oil prices rose more than 1 per cent on Tuesday, reversing the prior session's losses on a brightening short-term outlook tied to the prospect of slightly tightening supplies as trade thinned ahead of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays.

Brent crude futures settled at $73.58, rising 95 cents, or 1.3 per cent. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $70.10, rising 86 cents, or 1.2 per cent, as per a Reuters report.

FGE analysts said they expect the benchmark prices will fluctuate around current levels in the near term "as activity in the paper markets decreases during the holiday season and market participants stay on the sidelines until they get a clearer view of 2024 and 2025 global oil balances."

Supply and demand changes in December have been supportive of their current less-bearish view so far, the FGE analysts said in a note.

"Given how short the paper market is on positioning, any supply disruption could lead to upward spikes in structure," they added.

Some analysts also pointed to signs of greater oil demand over the next few months.    �Reuters