|
Brent crude futures were down 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $99.51 a
barrel 0900 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures fell 38 cents or 0.4% to $93.96 a barrel.
Brent was on track to rise more than 3% this week after last
week's 14% tumble, its biggest weekly decline since April 2020
amid fears that rising inflation and interest rate hikes will
hit economic growth and demand for fuel.
Uncertainty capped price gains as the market absorbed
contrasting demand views from the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
"While the peaking-inflation narrative has given some traction
for risk assets lately, the more measured moves in oil prices
since June suggest that some reservations remain in light of its
cloudy demand outlook," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist
at IG.
The trade-off for growth may continue to limit oil prices'
upside, with key psychological resistance for Brent at the $100
a barrel level, Yeap added.
On Thursday, OPEC cut its forecast for growth in world oil
demand in 2022 by 260,000 barrels per day (bpd). It now expects
demand to rise by 3.1 million bpd this year.
In contrast, the IEA raised its demand growth forecast to 2.1
million bpd citing gas-to-oil switching in power generation.
"There's a great deal of uncertainty about demand in the short
run. Until that settles, it (the market) will be like this for a
while," said Justin Smirk, a senior economist at Westpac.
The IEA also raised its outlook for Russian oil supply by
500,000 bpd for the second half of 2022, but said OPEC would
struggle to boost production.
"The oil market has bounced back this week, with Brent once more
flirting with triple figures," said Craig Erlam, senior market
analyst at Oanda in London.
"All things considered, the price moves highlight just how tight
the market remains and how sensitive it therefore still is to
spikes."
(Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Jeslyn
Lerh in Singapore; editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Jason Neely)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
