Oil posts weekly gain as traders weigh demand outlook, Iran deal
BNN Bloomberg
Oil declined Friday but still posted a weekly gain as traders weighed the prospects of higher demand this winter against the potential for Iranian supply to return.
West Texas Intermediate futures ended the week 3.5 per cent higher after losing 2.4 per cent Friday. Iran said it could accept a European Union-brokered nuclear deal if it receives certain guarantees. The prospect of more oil supply wiped out all gains earlier in the session.
Crude has been whipsawed by a flurry of both bearish and bullish headlines in recent days. Yet cooling inflation that may ease the pace of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve has supported commodities broadly.
“My view is we move higher,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management. “Demand numbers in the US were better and we have priced in a lot of negative demand adjustments into the market at this point,” she added.
