Connect with us
Finance Digest is a leading online platform for finance and business news, providing insights on banking, finance, technology, investing,trading, insurance, fintech, and more. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
BUSINESS

Oil up over 1% but set to end week down on demand concerns

Published On :

By Ahmad Ghaddar

LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose 1% on Friday on a softer dollar but were still set to end the week lower as weaker U.S. employment data raised concerns over the health of the world’s largest oil consumer, and renewed ceasefire talks in Gaza eased worries about supply.

Brent crude futures rose by 95 cents, or 1.23%, to $78.17 a barrel at 1323 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.06, or 1.45%, to $74.07. Brent futures have fallen almost 2% so far this week, while WTI lost over 3%.

Both benchmarks hit their lowest since early January this week, after the U.S. government sharply lowered its estimate of jobs added by employers this year through March.

That sparked concern about a potential recession in the U.S. hurting demand in the top oil consuming nation, but some analysts say that was an overreaction to the jobs revision.

The market will be closely monitoring a keynote speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell scheduled for 1400 GMT on Friday, with the market widely anticipating a rate cut from next month.

“Alluding to a quarter point cut in September is something already priced in and will receive a lukewarm reaction,” PVM Oil analyst John Evans said.

“But a double-decker half point percentage cut goes against how the Fed wishes to manage a controlled move away from tightening,” he added.

The US dollar index softened to about 101.45 ahead of the speech, and remained close to the 2024 low of 100.92 it hit on Wednesday, and is headed for a fifth straight week of losses. A cheaper greenback typically lifts demand for dollar-denominated oil from investors holding other currencies.

Morgan Stanley said in a note on Friday that a drawdown in oil inventories has provided oil prices with some support.

“For now, the balance in the oil market is tight, with inventories drawing approximately 1.2 million barrels per day in the last four weeks, which we expect will continue in the balance of [the third quarter],” the bank said.

Recent data from China, the top oil importer, has pointed to a struggling economy and slowing oil demand from refiners. A renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has also helped ease supply worries and weighed on oil prices.

U.S. and Israeli delegations started a new round of meetings in Cairo on Thursday to resolve differences over a truce proposal.

(Additional reporting Robert Harvey in London and Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)

Continue Reading

Why pay for news and opinions when you can get them for free?

       Subscribe for free now!


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Recent Posts