AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets crept up in early trade Wednesday with energy firms getting a shot in the arm from a rally in oil prices but worries about the global economy and the upcoming earnings season kept traders on edge.
After a confident rebound in March, analysts suggest dealers from Asia to the Americas may be concerned the gains-which followed January and February’s bloodbath-were a little overdone.
Oil, which last month rallied above $40 for the first time this year, have returned to the agenda as market-watchers await a crucial meeting of producers aimed at addressing a supply glut and plunging prices.
Prices soared in March after the talks were arranged by oil giants Saudi Arabia and Russia in a bid to end a slump that had battered global markets. Those hopes were dealt a blow on Friday when Riyadh said it would not take part without agreement from Iran and other major suppliers.
But the two main crude contracts rallied Wednesday after Kuwait said it still thought the April 17 meeting in Doha could produce a deal, even without the inclusion of key OPEC member Iran.
“Oil producers have no option but to freeze their production as oil prices are low and hurting everyone,” Kuwait’s OPEC governor Nawal al-Fezaia said. “All early signs before the meeting point to this conclusion.”
In morning trade, West Texas Intermediate was up 2.7 percent at $36.87 and Brent added 1.7 percent to $38.51.
“Oil is going to be very volatile in the lead-up to the meeting,” Angus Nicholson, an analyst at IG Ltd. in Melbourne, said. “It’s so uncertain as to whether a deal is going to be reached,” he told Bloomberg News.
The gains in oil lifted energy firms after Tuesday’s hefty losses. Hong Kong-listed CNOOC was up one percent and PetroChina added 1.7 percent, while in Sydney, Woodside Petroleum put on 2.3 percent and BHP Billiton gained 1.6 percent.
Asian markets crept up in early trade Wednesday with energy firms getting a shot in the arm from a rally in oil prices but worries about the global economy and the upcoming earnings season kept traders on edge.
After a confident rebound in March, analysts suggest dealers from Asia to the Americas may be concerned the gains-which followed January and February’s bloodbath-were a little overdone.
Oil, which last month rallied above $40 for the first time this year, have returned to the agenda as market-watchers await a crucial meeting of producers aimed at addressing a supply glut and plunging prices.
Prices soared in March after the talks were arranged by oil giants Saudi Arabia and Russia in a bid to end a slump that had battered global markets. Those hopes were dealt a blow on Friday when Riyadh said it would not take part without agreement from Iran and other major suppliers.
But the two main crude contracts rallied Wednesday after Kuwait said it still thought the April 17 meeting in Doha could produce a deal, even without the inclusion of key OPEC member Iran.
“Oil producers have no option but to freeze their production as oil prices are low and hurting everyone,” Kuwait’s OPEC governor Nawal al-Fezaia said. “All early signs before the meeting point to this conclusion.”
In morning trade, West Texas Intermediate was up 2.7 percent at $36.87 and Brent added 1.7 percent to $38.51.
“Oil is going to be very volatile in the lead-up to the meeting,” Angus Nicholson, an analyst at IG Ltd. in Melbourne, said. “It’s so uncertain as to whether a deal is going to be reached,” he told Bloomberg News.
The gains in oil lifted energy firms after Tuesday’s hefty losses. Hong Kong-listed CNOOC was up one percent and PetroChina added 1.7 percent, while in Sydney, Woodside Petroleum put on 2.3 percent and BHP Billiton gained 1.6 percent.
