Oil prices rose This Friday, March 31, as supplies tightened in some parts of the world and US inflation data indicated that price increases were slowing On a monthly basis, however, crude had its worst result since November.
Brent futures rose 1.6% to $79.94 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery gained 1.8% to $75.70 a barrel, having gained about 8% on the week.
Data on Friday showed the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.3% in February on a monthly basis.compared with a 0.6% rise in January and an expectation of a 0.4% rise in a Reuters poll.
Signs that inflation is slowing tend to support oil prices, as this could point to less aggressive interest rate hikes by the Fed, and increase investor demand for risky assets like commodities. and actions.
Oil prices also rose after producers shut down or reduced output at several fields in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region following the halt of the northern export pipeline.
With prices recovering from recent lows, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Russian-led allies are likely to stick to their existing production deal at a meeting on Monday, sources said.
OPEC pumped 28.90 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, according to a Reuters poll, down 70,000 bpd from February. Production is down more than 700,000 bpd since September.
At current levels, oil prices posted their second straight week of gains, but Brent and WTI also posted monthly falls of 5% and 2% respectively, the steepest since November.
Source: Ambito
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