As the market weighed evidence of rising US demand as well as declining oil and fuel stockpiles against a strengthening US currency, crude oil prices managed to hover around a seven-week high on Friday. While U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil for August delivery stayed steady at $81.29 from its closing position on Thursday, Brent futures increased 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $85.75 a barrel.
For the second straight day, it put Brent on course for its best closing since April 30. In contrast, WTI closed at $82.17 a barrel on Thursday, the highest level since April 29 when the front month was still the more expensive July contract. The two benchmarks for crude oil saw weekly gains of roughly 4% for the second consecutive week.
The control of oil prices was aided by a higher US dollar (DXY), showing a new tab. With the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (Fed) patient approach to interest rate cuts in contrast to more dovish positions abroad, the dollar reached a seven-week high versus a basket of other currencies.
Although pricing pressures significantly decreased, suggesting that the recent slowdown in inflation was expected to continue, business activity in the United States, the world’s largest oil user, slowly increased to a 26-month high in June amidst a comeback in employment.
The Energy Information Administration in the United States, on the other hand, reported that in the week ending June 14, the total product supplied a measure of oil demand rose by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) to 21.1 million bpd.
