The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is in the green today.
At the time of writing, Woodside shares are up 1.95% to $31.60 apiece. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 1.24% so far today.
So what is lifting the Woodside share price on Tuesday?
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What's happening?
Woodside is not the only energy share on the rise today. Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares are currently 1.26% higher, in line with the benchmark index. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is up 1.97% at the time of writing.
Woodside shares are rebounding today following a tough couple of weeks. Since market close on 7 February, Woodside shares have sunk 16% amid falling oil prices.
However, today is a different story. As my Foolish colleague James reported this morning, the WTI crude oil price jumped 1.3% overnight to US$67.61 a barrel, while the Brent crude oil price rose 1.1% to US$73.79 a barrel.
In a research note this morning, ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch was optimistic about the outlook for oil demand. She said:
Crude oil price recovered as risk appetite improved following regulators' moves to shore up confidence.
Commodity traders, including Citadel and Trafigura, believe the recent banking sector turmoil is likely to be limited in duration with only minimal damage to the wider economy.
This should see crude oil demand remain on an upward trajectory.
The oil price had fallen to its lowest level in 15 months in recent days amid the banking scare in the US and Europe. Commenting on this trend, Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn told Reuters there is a lot of "fear-based movement" in oil prices, adding:
We're not moving at all on supply and demand fundamentals, we're just moving on the banking concerns.
Despite lifting overnight, the WTI oil price is now down 0.35% to US$67.40 a barrel, while Brent crude is sliding 0.14% to US$73.69 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.99% to US$2.25 per MMBtu, according to Bloomberg.
Woodside is due to dish out a US$1.44 per share dividend on 5 April after the company delivered a record underlying NPAT of US$5.23 billion in the 2022 calendar year.
Woodside share price snapshot
The Woodside share price has slid 0.06% in the last 12 months but nearly 11% in 2023 to date.
For perspective, the ASX 200 has dropped 4% in the past 12 months.
Woodside has a market capitalisation of about $60 billion based on the current share price.
