Oil stocks among the best at Piazza Affari: focus on Iran and Opec+

In Piazza Affari, as in the rest of Europe, oil group stocks are in the spotlight: on the Ftse Mib Saipem is at the forefront (FTSE MIB down but with an ex-dividend weighing 1.42%), well Eni and Tenaris. Driving the sector were crude oil prices, which have risen again in recent sessions and are under scrutiny due to fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East following the news of the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

At the moment the Wti with July maturity trades just under USD 80 per barrel, while the Brent with the same maturity rises to USD 84.3.

Iran's head of government was involved in a helicopter crash while travelling with other people including the Iranian foreign minister, who also died. The cause of the accident is still unknown, although weather conditions were poor at the time of the crash. Analysts at Equita remain cautious, arguing that what happened in Iran 'would not have implications for crude oil prices at the moment'. Iran produced about 3.2 million barrels of oil in April, up from an average 2.5 million in 2021-22, about half of which was exported mainly to China. The focus remains on the next Opec+ meeting, scheduled for 1 June, where the current production cuts are expected to be maintained.

"Price action continues to flirt with resistance set between $79.60 and $80.50 dollars, driven by the upward return of global demand, after positive data on China's industrial production, which grew by 6.7 per cent year-on-year in April 2024, above market forecasts of 5.5 per cent, and above the previous month's 4.5 per cent," ActivTrades analysts note, recalling that, from a technical perspective, the "key resistances, for Wti oil, are placed at $80.5 and $83.30" per barrel.