Oil clawed back some of last week’s decline in lighter trades as many investors paused as they awaited further clues to demand.
West Texas Intermediate rose to near $79 a barrel, trading in a $2.50 range during a volatile session throughout the day. Last week, the commodity saw its biggest weekly drop since the banking crisis in March amid signs of narrowing refining margins in Asia.
“There are a lot of traders sitting on the sidelines trying to figure out a direction,” said Carley Garner, commodities broker and strategist at DeCarley Trading. “Traders are looking for a bathroom to enter; if we have $75, we can start going big.”
Crude has erased almost all of the rally seen earlier this month after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced surprise new production cuts. Citigroup Inc. said it was surprised by the magnitude of the pullback in Asian refining margins, which is due in part to the rise of new refineries in the Middle East.
Prices:
- WTI for June delivery rose 89 cents to settle at $78.76 a barrel at 3:13 pm in New York.
- Brent for June settlement rose $1.07 to $82.73 a barrel.
Later this week, the Federal Reserve will release the last of its major reports on US jobs, inflation and consumer spending ahead of its May policy meeting. In addition, some of the world’s biggest oil majors, including Chevron and Exxon, will release their first-quarter earnings on Friday.
– With the assistance of Natalia Kniazhevich.
