Oil headed for its biggest weekly increase since mid-July after a sizable drop in American crude inventories and an apparent pause in U.S.-China trade hostilities eased demand fears.
Futures in New York fell 0.9% on Friday but are up 3.7% for the week. China said Thursday that it wouldn’t immediately retaliate against the latest White House tariff increase, spurring optimism that Beijing wants to reach a deal. Traders were watching for any disruptions from Hurricane Dorian, which was forecast to become a major storm later on Friday as it heads toward Florida.
Despite this week’s gains, oil remains under pressure as the outlook for the global economy continues to be weak and the U.S. produces at record-high levels. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies said this week they expect to deplete the global oil surplus with their cuts, and falling inventories in America are indicating some level of success.
West Texas Intermediate for October delivery declined 53 cents, or 0.9%, to $56.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11:25 a.m. London time. The contract is heading for the biggest weekly gain since July 12.
Brent for October settlement lost 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $61.03 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange, and is up 2.9% this week. The global benchmark crude traded at a $4.50 premium to WTI on Friday.
Source : Bloomberg