USO falls 3.28% to $145.08 a share as Mideast flows show signs of recovery
The drop follows a pattern seen twice already this month, with earlier pullbacks reversing within days as tensions resurfaced.
Published
Chart: USO, one-minute prices, three sessions
Brent crude futures are down more than 2% on signs that Middle East crude flows are recovering.
The move echoes a pattern already seen twice this month. Brent broke below $100 a barrel on September 21 and 22 on similar signs of a Gulf recovery, then rebounded to between $105 and $108 within days as tensions flared again.
US crude has moved sharply in the same window. It jumped more than 4% in pre-market trade on Monday, touching $96.44 a barrel, after Iran's delegation in New York ruled out further talks. Those gains reversed later the same day, with US crude trading back near $92, a swing that pointed to fading momentum rather than a fresh catalyst.
Given how quickly the previous two pullbacks reversed, the move looks less like a durable shift lower and more like range trading between $100 and $108. That range is still directionally favorable for equities and eases, at the margin, the inflation and margin pressure that oil at $103 to $108 had been reinforcing, but the repeated whipsaw this month argues against reading much conviction into today's drop.