By Robert Harvey
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices held steady on Friday as investors await U.S. inflation data for clues on the demand outlook before turning attention to Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting to determine the state of supply into next year.
Brent futures were up 14 cents, or 0.17%, at $82.00 a barrel by 0908 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 4 cents, or 0.05%, at $77.87.
The more liquid August Brent contract was trading at $81.93, up 5 cents from the previous settlement.
Brent futures are on track for a monthly loss of almost 7% after dropping 2% in the previous session on a surprise build in U.S. fuel inventories.
Higher refinery utilisation brought a deeper than expected draw in crude oil stocks in the week to May 24, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed.
However, gasoline inventories rose by 2 million barrels, against expectations of a 400,000 barrel draw and higher demand ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
In the euro zone, inflation rose by 2.6% in May, Eurostat data showed, beating the 2.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The increase is unlikely to deter the European Central Bank from cutting borrowing costs next week, but it could slow the rate-cutting cycle in the coming months.
The oil market has been under pressure in recent weeks over the prospect of borrowing costs staying higher for longer, which ties down funds and can curb oil demand.
U.S. inflation data is due to be released at 1230 GMT.
Markets are also awaiting the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday, with the producer group working on a complex deal that would allow it to extend some of its deep oil production cuts into 2025, three sources familiar with OPEC+ discussions said on Thursday.
“The probable extension of the voluntary production cuts by OPEC+ should cause oil prices to rise again,” Commerzbank analysts said. “Ultimately, this would threaten a significant undersupply on the oil market in the third quarter.”
(Reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Georgina McCartney in Houston and Colleen Howe in Beijing; Editing by David Goodman)
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
