|
Brent crude futures were down 48 cents, or 0.7
percent, at $71.67 a barrel by 1100 GMT. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 24 cents, or 0.4 percent,
to $63.06.
Both benchmarks fell by about 3 percent in the previous session.
Trump on Friday said that he told the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower oil prices.
"Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said
you've got to bring them down. You've got to bring them down,"
Trump told reporters.
"Spoke to Saudi Arabia and others about increasing oil flow. All
are in agreement," the president later tweeted.
Trump's remarks triggered a sell-off, putting at least a
temporary ceiling on a 40 percent price rally since the start of
the year.
(GRAPHIC: Brent crude oil prices - https://tmsnrt.rs/2XWLBqT)
The rally had gained momentum in April after Trump tightened
sanctions against Iran by ending all exemptions previously
granted to that major buyers.
U.S. sanctions on Venezuela are also working to tighten global
supply as fighting in Libya threatens to curb output there as
well.
"We are dealing with a market that's not actually short of
supply but is short due to politically-motivated action, and we
know how quickly that can be turned around if necessary," Saxo
Bank analyst Ole Hansen told Reuters.
"Being a bear in the market is a very lonely place now."
Traders said the market was shifting focus to the voluntary
supply cuts led by OPEC, the de facto head of which is the
world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.
"We are of the view that Saudi Arabia will increase output as
soon as May, something they were likely to do anyway in the lead
up to summer," ING bank said.
"The Kingdom could increase output by 500 million barrels per
day (bpd) and still be in compliance with the OPEC+ deal for the
month of May."
The cuts have been supported by some non-OPEC producers, notably
Russia, but analysts said this cooperation may not last beyond a
meeting between OPEC and other allies, a group known as OPEC+,
scheduled for June.
"Russia appears to have every reason to resume ramping up
production levels and the base case should start to become
(that) we will not see OPEC+ agree upon extending production
cuts, with tweaks to cover the shortfall from Iran," said Edward
Moya, senior analyst at futures brokerage OANDA.
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Louise
Heavens and David Goodman)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
