Prices of both U.S.-based and international crude-oil benchmarks rose on Friday as investors looked past Thursday’s somber U.S. economic data and toward a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next week.
Price action
-
West Texas Intermediate Crude
CL00,
+5.00% CLU22,
+5.00%
for September delivery gained $2.13, or 2.2%, to $96.77. -
September Brent crude
BRN00,
+4.30% BRNV22,
+4.30% ,
the global benchmark, rose $1.94, or 1.9%, to $101.43 a barrel. -
Back on Nymex,
RBU22,
+4.04%
September gasoline added 1.1% to $3.140 per gallon, while September heating oil
HOU22,
+2.21%
was modestly higher at $3.62. -
September natural gas
NGU22,
-0.44%
gained 2.5% to $8.341 per million British thermal units.
What analysts are saying
Oil looks set to range trade over the coming sessions as investors await the meeting of OPEC and its allies —popularly known as “OPEC+” — expected next week, but rumors that OPEC+ is planning on leaving its production targets unchanged have helped to bolster crude prices.
“Oil prices are rising again amid reports that OPEC+ will leave output targets unchanged next month when it meets on Wednesday. Some sources did reportedly suggest a small increase would be discussed which would appear to align more with the optimistic view of a US administration official yesterday,” wrote Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
