Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Oil Edges Higher After Saudis Say OPEC+ Can Be Nimble on Output

Published 04/08/2021, 08:16 PM
Updated 04/08/2021, 08:45 PM
© Reuters.  Oil Edges Higher After Saudis Say OPEC+ Can Be Nimble on Output

© Reuters. Oil Edges Higher After Saudis Say OPEC+ Can Be Nimble on Output

(Bloomberg) -- Oil rose to trade near $60 a barrel -- but was headed for a weekly drop -- as Saudi Arabia defended the OPEC+ plan to increase output and said the alliance was nimble enough to change course if necessary.

West Texas Intermediate added 0.4% after a small decline Thursday, paring its weekly loss to less than 3%. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said there’s nothing yet in the market “that disturbs us”. The group will continue to meet monthly and it can adjust plans, he said in an interview.

Crude has been hemmed into a narrow range around $60 a barrel since mid-March as investors weigh the roll-out of vaccines and increased economic activity against Covid-19 flare-ups in some countries. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed last week to reintroduce more than 2 million barrels a day of supply over the coming months.

There was further support for financial markets from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who pledged that the U.S. central bank will go on providing the economy with the support it needs to bounce back fully from the pandemic. So far, the recovery remained incomplete, Powell told a virtual panel.

California provided further evidence that the lifting of anti-virus curbs is helping to stoke energy consumption, even as outbreaks worsen in Brazil, India, and parts of Europe. Gasoline prices in the most populous U.S. state are nearing $4 a gallon, a level that was last seen in November 2019.

The plan from OPEC+ envisages a phased return of production over the three months to July, with the alliance easing collective curbs and Saudi Arabia phasing out an additional, unilateral cut. The cartel will update its global supply-and-demand forecasts in a monthly report next Tuesday.

Brent’s underlying market structure has shown signs of strength. The global benchmark’s prompt timespread was 49 cents a barrel in backwardation on Thursday. That’s a bullish pattern, with near-term prices trading above those further out. That’s up from 6 cents at the beginning of last week.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Latest comments

Of course, OPEC+ will say what it did was right and that it can be nimble. The Saudis have too much in the rest of the alliance. The only reason compliance went this high was because of the throes of the pandemic. I believe the unity will fray over time and it will be back to each man for himself.
😂😂
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.