Brent Modestly Higher On Fed Minutes

A weaker dollar helped boost Brent crude oil prices after the commodity dropped to its lowest level in more than a year earlier this week on oversupply concerns.

Brent traded at $91.54 at 8:00 GMT on Thursday morning following the release of unexpectedly dovish FOMC minutes.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Reserve discussed the danger of raising interest rates too early at their September meeting, citing slackening global economic growth as a major reason for their caution.

Weak growth in China, Europe and Japan could hurt U.S. exports, which may in turn put some pressure on the U.S. economy. For that reason, the bank revised its medium-term growth expectations and worried that a rate hike too soon could be detrimental to the U.S. economy.

The minutes took the U.S. dollar lower as most had been expecting the bank to raise interest rates in early to mid 2015.

Commodities picked up following the minutes’ release as prolonged low interest rates means an ample money supply to support trading.

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However, crude prices remained under pressure as output continued to outpace global demand. Still, many see Brent prices making their way higher in the coming month as winter approaches and the need for oil increases. 

Geopolitical tension also has the potential to drive prices higher as the conflict in the Middle East grows more and more concerning. The U.S. and its allies stepped up air strikes near Syria’s border with Turkey this week as Islamic militants pushed forward to overtake a Kurdish border town.

Though the strikes were successful in pushing the extremist group back to the edges of the city, ISIS showed no signs of backing down and many worry that the conflict could soon extend into Turkey.