Oil prices rose almost 2 percent on Friday as traders covered short positions after four days of sharp losses, and the US oil rig count fell for a seventh week in a row. November Brent finished down 44 cents at $48.71 a barrel on Thursday before expiring.
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Brent North Sea crude for December delivery stood at United States dollars 49.93 a barrel compared with USD 52.65 a barrel for the expired November contract one week earlier.
USA crude rose 75 cents to $47.13 per barrel by 1:47 pm EDT (1747 GMT).
A few investors pinned hopes for a price revival on forecasts of falling U.S. shale oil production, with output expected to drop the most on record in November, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
USA crude and Brent remained on track for steep weekly losses after the worldwide Energy Agency predicted on Tuesday that the global market would remain oversupplied through 2016.
“In light of the large builds in crude oil inventories over the last two weeks and the significant pull-backs in refinery utilization rates, I remain bearish”, said David Thompson of Powerhouse, an energy-focused commodities broker in Washington, who expected crude prices to face resistance at $47.74 a barrel and $50.92. “I think downward movement is more likely for the rest of this year”, said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Singapore-based Phillip Futures Pte Ltd.
Gasoline consumption advanced 2.3 percent to 9.02 million barrels a day, while demand for distillate fuel, a category including diesel and heating oil, increased 0.4 percent to 3.95 million.
Oil markets were also supported as Asian shares got a bright start on Friday, catching a few of Wall Street’s shine after upbeat US price and jobless claims data calmed a few recent concerns about the strength of the USA economy.
“We see limited further downside for risk-reversals unless a major geopolitical event takes place”, he said.
Societe Generale analyst Jesper Dannesboe said crude oil was likely to continue range-trading over the coming months. Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino said on Tuesday that eight non-Opec countries have been invited to an October 21 oil meeting in Vienna: Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Mexico, Oman and Russian Federation.
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This article was written by Karolin Schaps from Reuters and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
