Oil prices
were stable on Friday, supported by strong Chinese crude imports and OPEC-led
production cuts, although ample U.S. fuel inventories weighed on the
market.
market.
Brent crude
futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at
$55.68 per barrel at 0427 GMT, up 5 cents from their previous close.
U.S. West
Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 7 cents at $53.07 a barrel.
Traders said
that strong Chinese crude import data was supporting prices on Friday.
China's crude
imports in January rose 27.5 percent from a year earlier to the third-highest
volume ever, suggesting robust demand despite disruptions from the Lunar New
Year holiday.
China imported
34.03 million tonnes, or 8.01 million barrels per day (bpd), the General
Administration of Customs reported on Friday. The imports were down from
December's record 8.57 million bpd.
Despite this,
both crude futures have traded within a $5 range since the beginning of the
year, and this was due to competing price drivers.
"Oil
prices continue to struggle to break out of the current range," ANZ bank
said on Friday.
"The push
and pull between competing forces in the crude oil market continued overnight.
Despite the stronger U.S. dollar .DXY and lingering concerns about U.S. (oil)
inventories, traders returned their focus to the OPEC production cuts being
implemented at the moment," it added.
The
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers
including Russia have agreed to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per
day during the first half of 2017 to rein in a global fuel supply overhang.
Initially,
there was widespread scepticism that all producers would actually make the
promised cuts, but compliance with the announced reductions is now estimated to
be between 80 and 90 percent as OPEC's de-facto leader Saudi Arabia has
enforced deep production cuts.
The next OPEC
data is due to be released next week.
Despite the
OPEC-led cuts, oil markets remain bloated as inventories, especially in the
United States, are brimming and rising U.S. drilling activity is pushing up
production there as well. [EIA/S]
As a result,
WTI and Brent crude oil futures are between 4 to 5 percent below their early
January peaks.
REUTERS
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