By Georgina McCartney
(Reuters) – Oil prices held steady at the start of Friday’s session as participants weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest comments on interest rates amid sticky inflation while firm seasonal demand for fuel in the USA provided support.
Brent crude futures rose 1 cent to $81.37 a barrel at 0002 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 2 cents to $76.85.
Both benchmarks closed at multi-month lows on Thursday, with Brent crude futures closing at their weakest point since January and U.S. crude futures hitting a three-month low.
Current macroeconomic restrictions in the US kept prices balanced, as investors digested Wednesday’s minutes from the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting, which showed that policymakers remain unsure whether current interest rates are high enough to tame persistent inflation.
Some officials said they would be willing to raise borrowing costs again if inflation rose. However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and other lawmakers have since said they feel further rate hikes are unlikely.
Meanwhile, strengthening U.S. gasoline demand helped stabilize prices ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, which is considered the start of the U.S. summer motoring season.
US gasoline demand reached its highest level since November, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday. That helped support the market as U.S. drivers account for about a tenth of global oil demand, “making the upcoming driving season a pillar of the recovery in global demand growth,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
All eyes are now on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively called OPEC+, who will meet on June 1, where they are expected to discuss the possibility of extending voluntary oil production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day.
“The market is also hesitant to take an aggressive stance ahead of next week’s OPEC meeting where supply policy will be discussed,” the ANZ analysts added.
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Sonali Paul)
