Oil declines from 2019 highs but set for third weekly gain

[March 22, 2019]   By Shadia Nasralla

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell further from 2019 highs on Friday, but was set for a third straight week of gains due to supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and by U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.

Brent crude futures were at $67.39 per barrel at 0942 GMT, 47 cents below their last close. Brent hit a four-month high of $68.69 on Thursday. The benchmark has risen by just under a third since the beginning of January, when OPEC started to cut production.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $59.53 per barrel, down 45 cents from their last settlement. WTI marked a 2019 peak in the previous session at $60.39.

Both contracts were on course for their third consecutive week of increase.

"For all the recent chatter of positive vibes and faithful oil bulls, the $70 barrier has so far proved a tough nut to crack for the European benchmark," PVM analysts wrote.

"A sense of hesitancy has taken hold across the energy complex. Market players are waiting for a bullish catalyst to spark a decisive upside breakout. The most obvious contender would be a conclusive trade agreement between the U.S. and China."

As economic growth has slowed across Asia, Europe and North America, potentially denting fuel consumption, no breakthrough has emerged in the trade stand-off between Washington and Beijing, at least before meetings scheduled on March 28-29.

Three in four Japanese companies expect U.S.-China trade frictions to last until at least late this year, a Reuters poll found.

Pumpjacks are seen against the setting sun at the Daqing oil field in Heilongjiang province, China December 7, 2018. Picture taken December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

A jump of more than 2 million barrels per day in U.S. crude oil production since early 2018 to a record 12.1 million bpd has made the United States the world's biggest producer, ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.

This has resulted in increasing exports, which have doubled over the past year to more than 3 million bpd. The International Energy Agency estimated that the United States would become a net crude oil exporter by 2021.

U.S. energy firms last week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a fourth week in a row, with drilling slowing to its lowest in nearly a year, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes. Fresh data is due on Friday.

(GRAPHIC: Russia, Saudi & Rest of OPEC crude oil production link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2CHr9lJ).

Still, oil prices this year have been propped up by supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia.

Beyond OPEC, oil prices have been boosted by U.S. sanctions against OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.

(GRAPHIC: U.S. crude oil production & exports link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ULQiTd).

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson)

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