Oil prices eased slightly on Friday as evidence this week of rising crude supplies from OPEC members offset Middle East tensions and signs of a slowdown in U.S. output.
Brent crude was still within sight of its 2015 high reached on Thursday and has rallied 16 percent in April, supported by conflict in Yemen and the prospect that lower prices are starting to curb U.S. shale output.
At 1302 GMT, Brent crude for June LCOc1 slipped 12 cents to $63.86 a barrel. It hit a 2015 high of $64.95 on Thursday. U.S. crude for May CLc1 was down 52 cents at $56.19 a barrel.
Pressuring prices on Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its monthly report that its March production jumped 810,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 30.79 million bpd, led by Saudi Arabia.
A day earlier, the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialized countries, also reported a surge in OPEC production to 31 million bpd, which it said could delay a tightening in the global market.
“There is the prospect in the second quarter of an enormous 2.4 to 2.7 million bpd stockbuild if OPEC production continues at 31 million bpd,” said David Hufton of brokers PVM.
“Could it be that Saudi Arabia wants to frighten non-OPEC producers such as Russia to the production negotiation table?”
Talks between OPEC and other major producers triggered speculation about deals to cut production and supported oil prices on Wednesday, though most analysts said an agreement was unlikely.
via Reuters
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Alfonso Esparza
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Latest posts by Alfonso Esparza (see all)
- Market Rally Still Going Low Holiday Volumes Awaiting Start of 2020 - 27 December 2019
- Market Awaits China Retaliation on Trade - 29 November 2019
- Alibaba to Close Order Book Ahead of Huge IPO - 18 November 2019