Oil and gas speculation continues

SPECULATIVE activity continued in the oil and gas exploration and support services space on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as crude oil prices surged to a more than two-year high.

This is even as the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) experienced a mostly flattish day, closing almost unchanged at 3,374.08 points, down just 1.89 points or 0.06 per cent. Gainers outnumbered losers 231 to 216.

Brent crude stayed above the US$60 a barrel mark for the second day in a row as officials from oil cartel Opec (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and major producer Russia pushed for production cuts to be extended until the end of 2018.