Oil steadies on U.S. crude stock drawdown, OPEC+ output hikes delay
By Nicole Jao
Sept 6 (Reuters) -Oil prices edged up in early trading on Friday as investors weighed a big withdrawal from U.S. crude inventories and a delay to production hikes by OPEC+ producers against mixed U.S. employment data.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 19 cents, or 0.26%, to $72.88 at 0010 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 22 cents, or 0.32%, to $69.37.
"Crude oil edged higher as bullish signals offset the bearish sentiment that has gripped the market in recent days," ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes said, adding that a weaker dollar was also supporting commodities prices.
Brent settled down 1 cent at its lowest close since June 2023 on Thursday and WTI was down 5 cents to the lowest close since December 2023 after data showed that U.S. crude stockpiles fell to a one-year low last week. EIA/S
Crude stockpiles fell by 6.9 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels last week compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 993,000-barrel draw.
Also lifting prices, OPEC+ agreed to delay a planned oil production increase for October and November, the producers group said on Thursday, adding that it could further pause or reverse the hikes if needed.
The latest U.S. economic data offered some relief about the health of the economy to a market looking for clues about the path of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
U.S. services sector activity was steady in August, but employment gains slowed, remaining consistent with an easing labor market.
The mixed signals from job market indicators weighed on the dollar, which sagged near a one-week low ahead of crucial monthly payrolls data due later on Friday.
A weaker dollar makes oil cheaper for buyers using other currencies.
Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; Editing by Sonali Paul
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.