ISLAMABAD
Oil prices remained steady on Friday after a substantial rise on Thursday, eyeing the first weekly gain in the last three weeks.
As of 1150 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.07 (+0.09 percent) to reach $75.74 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went up by $0.03 (+0.04 percent) to $70.65 a barrel.
The price of Russian Sokol jumped by $2.22 (+3.44 percent) to $66.70. Arab Light prices witnessed an increase of $2.12 (+2.79 percent) to reach $78.04 a barrel.
Similarly, the price for Opec Basket went up by $1.78 (+2.44 percent) to $74.84. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend, Girassol, Djeno, Zafiro, Rabi Light, Iran Heavy, Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider, Bonny Light, Arab Light, Murban and Merey.
The Thursday price jump came on the back of news from China, where refinery throughput rose by 15.4 percent in May confirming strong oil demand, and retail sales data from the United States, which showed sales had surprisingly increased in May.
While overall Chinese activity data was disappointing, Chinese crude throughput in May jumped.
China’s central bank this week reduced interest rates, which was widely seen as a move aimed at accelerating the pace of recovery, which has recently faltered, based on economic indicators.
Meanwhile, more investment banks revised their predictions for oil prices later in the year, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America all cutting their predictions for oil prices citing Russian export resilience and uneven Chinese demand recovery.
Higher interest rates rise borrowing costs and generally discourage oil demand growth. A cheaper US potentially improves the outlook for oil demand as a cheaper dollar makes for cheaper oil to buyers in non-dollar currencies.
