HOUSTON- Oil prices closed 1 percent lower on Friday and fell even more for the week as markets remained wary of soft Chinese demand even as producer group OPEC+ extended supply cuts.
Brent crude futures settled down 88 cents, or 1.1 percent , at $82.08 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) fell 92 cents, or 1.2 percent , at $78.01.
Both benchmarks fell in the week, with Brent down 1.8 percent and WTI 2.5 percent .
“While supplies have remained on the tighter side given OPEC’s production cuts and Russian sanctions slowing exports, demand from China looks to be lagging and US driving season demand has yet to kick in,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
China earlier this week set an economic growth target for 2024 of around 5 percent , which many analysts say is ambitious without much more stimulus.
China’s imports of crude oil rose in the first two months of the year compared with the same period in 2023, but they were also weaker than the preceding months, data showed on Thursday, continuing a trend of softening purchases by the world’s biggest buyer.
On the supply side, OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Sunday to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter, giving extra support to the market amid concerns over global growth and rising output outside the group.
However, crude production in OPEC+ countries increased by 212,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February over January output, according to Rystad Energy data and research. – Reuters