(New York) Oil prices stalled on Thursday, ahead of a holiday when markets will be closed for Good Friday, as investors otherwise scrutinized signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.
A barrel of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery climbed 0.15% to $85.12.
Its US equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for May delivery, rose 0.11% to $80.70.
“There has been little trading, we are in a classic state of waiting for leave,” said Andrew Lebow of Commodity Research Group.
Investors are watching for the official US employment report on Friday, which should show a cooling in the labor market, but as the markets will be closed, there will be no immediate impact on prices, the analyst said.
For Edward Moya of Oanda, “brokers are hungover after OPEC” and its announcement of a production cut.
“It looks like WTI will hardly move a barrel from the $80/barrel level even though headlines suggest the US economy is weakening rapidly,” Moya added.
Recession forecasts in the United States are increasing, which could weigh on demand from the world’s largest consumer of rough.
This gloomy context explains why prices did not react on Wednesday to a marked drop in commercial oil reserves in the United States.
However, prices remained up over the week, after the decision on Sunday by certain members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC) to limit their production.
“This surprise move has the potential to push the market into a supply shortfall of up to 2 million barrels per day in the coming months,” warns Daniel Hynes, analyst at ANZ.
“The message from OPEC is strong, the Organization is ready to defend a floor price of 80 dollars per barrel”, he adds.
Previous voluntary OPEC production cuts have in the past taken place when prices were lower and threatened to make extractions unprofitable in some countries.
Both Brent and WTI gained more than 6% over the week.
