11:00 AM EDT, 04/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

The sector has experienced an improvement in absolute and relative price performance, due to its inflation-hedge reputation, the possible expansion of tensions in the Middle East, the prospects for a delayed start to the Fed rate cuts, and the embryonic improvement in the Chinese economy. CFRA thinks the strike by Israel against key leaders from Iran, in Syria, has a very real chance of bringing Iran into direct conflict with Israel and risks a wider spillover into oil traffic in the Gulf. Unlike other geopolitical conflicts, this runs the risk of crimping oil supply. Iran produced about 3.0 mmb/day of crude in 2023, with about 1.3 mmb/day exported to world markets. Even though some of the other members of OPEC-10 could take up the slack, a reduction in Iranian output would by definition reduce spare capacity. Separately, EPS growth in 2024 will likely hit a trough in Q1 2024 and begin a sequential increase through Q4 2025.