Repeat of oil’s sub-zero plunge unlikely as June expiry nears

Stabilising commodity: Oil pumping jacks, also known as ‘nodding donkeys’, operate in an oilfield near Almetyevsk, Tatarstan, Russia. Brent for July settlement was little changed at US$34.85 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after gaining 7.1% on Monday. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK CITY: Oil’s historic crash below zero looked increasingly like an aberration as the June contract held gains following a three-day rally in its last session of trading before expiring.

Amid growing signs of a nascent recovery in demand, deepening production cuts and optimism that the world is getting closer to finding a vaccine for the coronavirus, futures in New York edged higher toward US$32 a barrel. The July contract, which was a lot more active, traded at similar levels.