Oil rises but posts fourth straight quarterly decline a row
Oil prices rose on Friday, but posted a fourth-quarter loss as investors worried that stagnant global economic activity could dampen fuel demand.
Brent crude futures for August delivery, due Friday, were up 56 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $74.90. In the three months to the end of June, the contract closed down 6%.
West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 78 cents, or 1.1%, at $70.64 a barrel. It announced its second consecutive quarterly decline, down about 6.5% in the last three months.
Prices came under pressure from rising interest rates in key economies and a slower-than-expected recovery in Chinese manufacturing and consumption.
Signs of strengthening US economic activity and sharp declines in US oil inventories last week provided some support.
Crude oil was supported by the US Department of Commerce's report showing annual inflation rising at its slowest pace in two years last month. Signs of moderate inflation may prevent the Fed from raising interest rates again.
The market was also supported by upward revisions in demand for crude oil and refined products in the US. Demand for crude oil and petroleum products fell slightly to 20,446 million barrels per day in April, but remained seasonally strong, according to EIA data.
Prices were backed by Saudi Arabia's plans to cut production by another 1 million barrels per day in July, as well as a broader OPEC+ agreement to limit supply to 2024.
Despite the announcement of two new rounds of cuts from OPEC+ and Saudi Arabia, crude oil prices remained largely below $80 a barrel as the market was driven more by macroeconomic concerns than fundamentals.
Although the estimated 2.3 million barrels deep deficit for 2023 will help prices gain some upward momentum, it is expected to remain so for part of the summer.
Baker Hughes said U.S. energy firms have cut the number of oil and gas rigs operating for the ninth consecutive week for the first time since July 2020.
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