Oil Updates – Crude Heads For Weekly Gain

LONDON: Oil was little changed on Friday and heading for a weekly gain, as Middle East tensions and oil output disruptions caused by cold weather in the US, the world’s biggest producer, balanced concerns about the health of the Chinese and global economies, according to Reuters.

Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran on Thursday in a retaliatory attack, while the US launched new strikes against Houthi anti-ship missiles aimed at the Red Sea.

Brent crude futures fell 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $78.94 a barrel by 3:13 p.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 21 cents to $73.87.

“While the price of crude remains sensitive to events in the Middle East, as we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, the oil market remains well balanced,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at brokerage OANDA.

“Supply disruptions remain an upside risk but there are downside risks too, including the global economy.”

For the week, the US benchmark is on track to rise about 1.6 percent while Brent is set to gain less than 1 percent. Both markers climbed on Thursday after the International Energy Agency raised its 2024 oil demand growth forecast.

Despite its higher demand growth forecast, the IEA’s projection is half that of producer group OPEC. The Paris-based agency also said that — barring significant disruptions to flows — the market looked reasonably well supplied in 2024.

“The forecast for global oil demand growth remains unclear, with stakeholders and research institutions providing widely differing projections,” said analyst Bjarne Schieldrop of SEB.

While the Middle East tensions have not shut down any oil production, supply outages continue in Libya and about 40 percent of oil output in North Dakota, a top producing US state, remained shut due to extreme cold as of Wednesday.