Oil: Prices supported by geopolitical events - BBH

Analysts at BBH explain that oil prices rallied after the US missile strike in Syria.  

Key Quotes

“US President Trump said the picture of the human tragedy from what strongly appears as Syrian use of chemical weapons changed his views.  Previously, Trump had tweeted more than a dozen times about the folly of attacking Syrian President Assad's forces.  Also, when Obama's support was low, but above where Trump's is today, Trump cautioned that Obama would strike Libya or Iran to distract attention.  Ironically, Russia is accusing Trump of the same thing now.”

“To be sure, the rally in oil prices started well before these incidents.  The May light sweet crude oil contract has advanced in eight of the nine past sessions to approach $53 a barrel, which corresponds to a 61.8% retracement of this year's decline.  A downtrend line drawn off the early January high ($57.50), and the February highs (~$55.25-$55.30) is found near $53.40 at the start of the new week and around $53.10 by the end of the week. Support is in the $51.45-$51.75 band.”