"The focus as we close the week will be on what happens with next inflation report, will the market get more nervous on even more tightening from the Fed," OANDA analyst Edward Moya said. Oil has also been pressured by a surge in U.S. crude inventories to the highest since May 2021, as refiners ran less oil during a strong maintenance season. Crude inventories rose by 7.6 million barrels to a about 479 million barrels, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. (Reporting by Andrew Hayley; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
By Andrew Hayley
BEIJING, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains
for a second session on Friday as the prospect of lower exports
from Russia offset rising inventories in the United States.
Brent crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.7%, to
$82.82 per barrel by 0215 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude
futures (WTI) rose 63 cents, or 0.8%, to $76.02 a barrel.
Both benchmarks ended Thursday about 2% higher on Russia's
plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in
March which exceeded its announced production cuts of 500,000
barrels per day.
These reports lifted sentiment on the supply side, ANZ
analysts said in a note.
For the week, oil prices are slightly lower, after the
previous week's about 4% declines, dragged by concerns about
rising interest rates that could strengthen the dollar as well
as a ninth straight week of a U.S. crude stocks build.
Minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting
indicated that a majority of officials remained hawkish on
inflation and tight labour market conditions, signalling further
monetary tightening.
The prospect of further rate hikes supported the dollar
index , which was set for a fourth straight week of gains.
The index is now up about 2.5% for the month. A firm dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more
expensive for holders of other currencies.
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