Oil climbs slightly on bargain hunting

Following a weekly loss that saw futures trade around their weakest levels since early January, oil futures inched higher in the early part of Monday’s Asian session as traders saw an opportunity to perhaps grab crude on the cheap. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for April delivery rose 0.03% to USD93.16 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in April rose 0.5% Friday to settle the week at USD93.33 a barrel by close of trade. On the week, New York-traded oil futures lost 2.7%. Oil futures, as was the case with gold and other dollar-denominated commodities, came under pressure on speculation the Federal Reserve is mulling an end to its money-printing endeavors that have previously boosted stocks and other riskier assets such as oil. With traders thinking that oil, gold and other commodities could be in for a near-term pullback, the U.S. dollar’s status as a safe-haven has proven appealing. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, ended the week at 81.55, the strongest level since August 30. Futures were also pressured by news that Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, may increase output to avoid demand destruction at the hands of higher prices. Speaking of OPEC, Iran is set to meet with the U.S. and five other nations later today in Kazakhstan. Iran has been under sanctions from the West regarding its pursuit of a nuclear agenda and those sanctions have crippled the country’s ability to receive dollars or euros for the sale of crude to foreign buyers. Meanwhile, Oil & Gas UK forecast that country’s oil production will slip 3% to 6% this year due to issues in the North Sea before rising next year. Elsewhere, Brent for April delivery fell 0.22% to USD114 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

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Courtesy:INVESTING