NEW YORK: World oil prices have steadied after Brent crude had this week hit a two-year low point against a backdrop of solid supplies and dampening demand growth.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November edged up six cents to stand at US$97.76 a barrel around midday in London. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October eased 22 cents to US$92.85 a barrel. “Brent is trading somewhat more firmly than a week ago after some extremely volatile days of trading,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note to clients.
Brent began the week by sliding to US$96.21 a barrel, which was the lowest level since July 2012. Oil prices, however, rebounded sharply on Tuesday after the head of OPEC indicated that the crude producers’ cartel could cut its production target for 2015.
They headed south once more a day later as a US crude stockpiles report showed a weekly surge of 3.7 million barrels instead of the 1.2-million barrel decline expected by the market.
A stronger dollar added downward pressure this week to oil prices, which are traded in the US unit and become more costly for buyers using weaker currencies.
