Oil pares weekly gain as traders assess outlook for demand
BNN Bloomberg
Oil fell on Friday, but was still on course for a weekly gain as traders weighed the prospects of higher demand this winter against the potential for extra supply from Iran.
West Texas Intermediate traded near US$93 a barrel, wiping out an earlier increase after Iran said it can accept a European Union-brokered nuclear deal if it gets certain guarantees -- something the country has been seeking for much of the last year.
Oil has been buffeted by a flurry of headlines in recent days and is still up about 4 per cent this week. Six oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico were shut after a leak at a Louisiana booster station halted two pipelines, though should soon resume. The International Energy Agency boosted its forecast for global demand growth as soaring natural gas prices and heat waves spur demand.
Other asset classes have also been on a firmer footing this week after U.S. inflation figures missed expectations, potentially cooling the pace of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
