Investing.com - Oil prices fell on Friday in Asia after a 3% jump in the previous session on suggestions that global supplies could balance by the middle of next year.
Crude Oil WTI Futures for January delivery declined 0.4% to $52.40 per barrel at 2:06 AM ET (07:06 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
London’s Intercontinental Exchange showed that Brent Oil Futures for February delivery fell 0.6% to $61.09 a barrel.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), which represents the interest of energy consumers in the West, gave oil bulls some hope by forecasting a supply deficit in the second quarter of next year, versus a month ago when it said that it expected a surplus for all of 2019.
The forecast came after the OPEC said earlier this week that 2019 demand for its crude would fall to 31.44 million barrels per day, 100,000 bpd less than predicted last month and 1.53 million less than it currently produces.
OPEC and its allies reached an agreed last week to cut oil production by more than the market had expected.
Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Thursday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.2 million barrels in the week to Dec. 7. However, the decline was less than expected, as markets previously forecasted a decrease of 3 million barrels.
In other news, Oman will be reducing oil output by 2% from January for an initial period of six months, Reuters reported citing a letter sent to customers of Omani oil by the country's oil and gas ministry.