Oil prices on track for fourth consecutive week of gains

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices were little changed in Asian trade on Friday but were on track for a fourth straight week of gains and holding close to their highest levels since late April on hopes of strong demand for fuel in the summer and some concerns about supply.

Brent crude futures, which have risen 7% over the past four weeks, fell 2 cents to $87.41 a barrel at 01:43 GMT.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures, which have risen 9% over the past four weeks, rose to $83.97, up 9 cents from Wednesday’s close. With the US market closed for the Fourth of July holiday on Thursday, trading was slow and there was no deal for WTI.

Oil rose this week due to strong summer demand expectations in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer.

“Market sentiment was supported this week by strong mobility indicators and intensifying geopolitical tension in the Middle East,” analysts at ANZ Research said in a note on Friday.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a whopping 12.2 million barrels drawn on inventories last week, compared to analyst expectations for a draw of 700,000 barrels. [EIA/S]

US data released on Wednesday showed that first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the US rose last week, while the number of unemployed people also rose, which analysts said could potentially accelerate interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserves and support oil markets.

On the supply side, Reuters reported on Thursday that Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil will sharply cut oil exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in July.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco cut the price of the main Arab Light crude it will sell to Asia in August to $1.80 per barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, underlining the pressure faced by OPEC producers as supply tightens. non-OPEC increases.

Traders were also following the war in Gaza and elections in France and the United Kingdom, analysts said.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Sonali Paul)