London May 3 2024: Oil prices edged higher on Friday yet remained on course for their steepest weekly loss in three months weighed by concerns about demand and high interest rates.
Brent crude futures for July rose 43 cents, or 0.5%, to $84.10 a barrel by 1200 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was up 34 cents, or 0.4%, to $79.29 per barrel.
Both benchmarks are set for weekly losses as investors are concerned higher-for-longer interest rates will curb economic growth in the U.S., the world’s leading oil consumer, as well as in other parts of the world.
Brent was on course for a weekly decline of about 6%, and WTI for a loss of 5.4% on the week.
“We view the commodities sell-off over the last two days as collateral damage from the Fed repricing and non-fundamental in nature,” JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note.
The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this week, and flagged high inflation readings that could delay rate cuts.
The market awaits monthly data due on Friday about U.S. nonfarm payrolls, a measure of labour market strength that the Fed takes into consideration when setting interest rates.
