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Oil settles down on United States jobs information, steepest weekly loss in 3 months

Oil costs settled lower on Friday, and published their steepest weekly loss in 3 months as investors weighed weak U.S. tasks information and possible timing of a. Federal Reserve rate of interest cut.

Brent unrefined futures for July settled 71 cents lower,. or 0.85%, to $82.96 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude. for June fell 84 cents, or 1.06%, to $78.11 a barrel.

Financiers were worried that higher-for-longer borrowing. expenses would suppress financial growth in the U.S., the world's. leading oil customer, after the Federal Reserve decided this. week to hold rates of interest constant.

For the week, Brent declined more than 7%, while WTI fell. 6.8%.

U.S. task growth slowed more than anticipated in April and the. annual wage gain cooled, information showed on Friday, triggering. traders to raise bets that the U.S. central bank will deliver. its very first interest rate cut this year in September.

The economy is slowing a little bit, stated Tim Snyder,. financial expert at Matador Economics. However (the data) gives a path. forward for the Fed to have at least one rate cut this year, he. said.

The Fed held rates constant this week and flagged high. inflation readings that might delay rate cuts. Greater rates. normally weigh on the economy and can decrease oil demand.

The market is repricing the anticipated timing of possible rate. cuts after the release of softer-than-expected regular monthly tasks. information, said Giovanni Staunovo, an expert at UBS.

U.S. energy companies today cut the variety of oil and. gas rigs running for a second week in a row, to the. most affordable because January 2022, Baker Hughes stated in its. closely followed report on Friday.

The oil and gas rig count, an early indication of future. output, fell by eight to 605 in the week to May 3, in the. greatest weekly decrease since September 2023. The variety of oil. rigs fell 7 to 499 this week, in the biggest weekly drop. given that November 2023.

Geopolitical threat premiums due to the Israel-Hamas war have. faded as the 2 sides consider a short-lived ceasefire and hold. talks with international mediators.

Even more ahead, the next meeting of OPEC+ oil producers -. members of the Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. and allies consisting of Russia - is set for June 1.

3 sources from the OPEC+ group stated it might extend its. voluntary oil output cuts beyond June if oil demand does not. increase.

Money supervisors cut their net long U.S. crude futures and. choices positions in the week to April 30, the U.S. Commodity. Futures Trading Commission

(source: Reuters)