Oil heads for robust weekly gain as Russia to extend export cuts
BNN Bloomberg
Oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since April as Russia signaled it would extend export curbs and China fired another salvo of state support to bolster the economy in the world's largest crude importer.
West Texas Intermediate was up for a seventh day near US$84 a barrel, which would be the longest such run since January. U.S. futures have climbed about five per cent this week.
Russia said that further details on production cuts made in tandem with the country's OPEC+ partners will be announced next week. Key market gauges are already pointing to market strength before any rollover, with the closely-watched spread between the nearest two December contracts for WTI at the firmest since April.
Additional support for crude prices has come from speculation that the Federal Reserve may not need to deliver further interest rate hikes as inflation cools off, while China is ramping up efforts to stimulate its own economy. Later Friday, U.S. jobs data will provide the next clues on the path of the world's largest economy.