CALGARY, Alberta: Brent oil crude futures edged lower as last week’s weaker data lingered over a market thinned by public holidays in the US and Britain.
Brent futures dipped 11 cents to $102.53 per barrel at 1719 GMT, following the worst weekly performance in five weeks. US crude shed 50 cents to $93.63 per barrel.
Oil came under pressure last week as data showed China’s factory activity declined in May for the first time in seven months and US manufacturing grew at its slowest pace since October.
The US and China are the world’s top two oil consumers.
The next focus for traders is a meeting of producer cartel the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC) in Vienna on Friday, although output policy is expected to be unchanged, according to delegates who attend meetings.
“There is a risk that prices go down due to demand concerns and that OPEC is unlikely to change anything at the meeting this week,” said Carsten Fritsch, an oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Brent oil prices are very close to top producer Saudi Arabia’s favored $ 100 a barrel, meaning the producer with the most sway is unlikely to call for a production cut.
“People will slowly move toward $ 100 a barrel at the end of the week unless something unexpected happens in the financial markets or geopolitical landscape,” Fritsch at Commerzbank said.
Data last week also showed stockpiles of gasoline in the US are close to the highest level for this time of year since 1999.
That means the start of the North American driving season this weekend is unlikely to push crude prices higher, Randy Ollenberger, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in Calgary, wrote in a note.
“Hopes for a gasoline-led rally in crude oil prices appear remote for now, given ample gasoline inventories and tepid demand,” Ollenberger wrote.
“We believe underlying supply-demand fundamentals for crude oil remain soft.”
