{"id":11938,"date":"2024-09-20T09:56:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T09:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=11938"},"modified":"2024-09-20T09:56:01","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T09:56:01","slug":"oil-prices-set-to-end-week-higher-after-us-rate-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/11938\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil prices set to end week higher after US rate cut"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0Oil prices eased on Friday, but were on track to register gains for a second straight week following a large cut in U.S. interest rates and declining global stockpiles.<\/p>\n

Brent futures , which were down 35 cents, or 0.47%, at $74.53 a barrel at 0804 GMT while U.S. WTI crude futures were down 25 cents, or 0.35%, at $71.70. Still, both were up more than 4% on the week.<\/p>\n

Prices have been recovering after Brent fell below $69 for the first time in nearly three years on Sept. 10.<\/p>\n

“U.S. interest cuts have supported risk sentiment, weakened the dollar and supported crude this week,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.<\/p>\n

“However, it takes time until rate cuts support economic activity and oil demand growth,” he added, regarding crude’s more muted performance so far on Friday.<\/p>\n

Prices rose more than 1% on Thursday following the U.S. central bank’s decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Interest rate cuts typically boost economic activity and energy demand, but some also see it as a sign of a weak U.S. labour market.<\/p>\n

The Fed also projected a further half-point rate cut by year-end, a full point next year and a half-point trim in 2026.
\n“Easing monetary policy helped reinforce expectations that the U.S. economy will avoid a downturn,” ANZ Research analysts said.<\/p>\n

Also supporting prices were a decline in U.S. crude inventories, which fell to a one-year low last week.<\/p>\n

A counter-seasonal oil market deficit of around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) will support Brent crude prices in the $70 to $75 a barrel range during the next quarter, Citi analysts said on Thursday, but added prices could plunge in 2025.<\/p>\n

Crude prices were also being supported by rising tensions in the Middle East. Walkie-talkies used by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah exploded on Wednesday following similar explosions of pagers the previous day.<\/p>\n

Security sources have said the Israeli spy agency Mossad was responsible, but Israeli officials have not commented on the attacks.<\/p>\n

China’s slowing economy also weighed on market sentiment, with refinery output in China slowing for a fifth month in August and industrial output growth hitting a five-month low.<\/p>\n

Updated on