(New York) Oil prices finished close to equilibrium on Friday, after reaching their highest level in almost two months, with operators still wondering about the health of demand.
The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent for August delivery gained 0.02%, to close at $86.41.
A barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) of the same maturity lost 0.24%, to 81.54 dollars.
Earlier in the session, Brent and WTI had climbed to a high since late April. This peak triggered a wave of profit-taking, which sent prices falling.
“There is no identified catalyst that could take us even higher,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital.
“We hope that demand [for refined products] will be strong with the approach of July 4,” an American national holiday often marked by travel, “but this also corresponds to the peak of the season” in the United States, indicated the analyst.
“The seasonal effect will therefore quickly fade away,” he warned.
Operators are also worried about a slowdown in the American economy, highlighted by the latest indicators. The number of job seekers in the United States reached its highest level since November 2021 last week.
The PCE consumer price index confirmed on Friday the deceleration of inflation in the United States, an encouraging sign for the American central bank in the perspective of a possible reduction in the key rate.
“Rate cuts would encourage risk-taking” on the markets, recognizes John Kilduff, “but the problem is that they would aim to compensate for the drop in demand”, due to a deterioration in the job market and tighter conditions of access to credit.
Moreover, after having stimulated the prices, geopolitical tensions have moved into the background.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel did not want war in Lebanon with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, while warning that his country could, in the event of a conflict, “bring Lebanon back to stone Age “.
