Oil prices see little change Friday amid trading within tight range

March 1 (UPI) --

Crude oil prices were little changed Friday morning, and since the closing of Wednesday trading appears to have occurred within a tighter range, as traders balance immediate supply concerns with possibly weaker demand in coming months.

West Texas Intermediate prices fell 0.3 percent to $57.06 per barrel as of 8:38 a.m. EST, while Brent showed a 0.2 percent decline to $66.20 per barrel as of the same time.

WTI future prices closed Friday of last week at $57.26 per barrel, declining by Monday to $55.48 per barrel and staying near that level until the end of the following day. Prices recovered on Wednesday rising to $56.95 per barrel at the closing of that day. By Friday morning it kept most of that recovery.

With the latest inventory reports showing a crude draw of over 8 million bbls OPEC cuts, and high U.S. exports taking effect, we also recently saw renewed shipments of U.S. crude to China improving the demand picture, said Amir Hekmati, oil futures spec trader at TradeFlow,

If not for the strength in the U.S. Dollar, WTI would be higher, and I believe $60 WTI is imminent, Hekmati added.

Separately, analyst James Hyerczyk wrote in a report earlier in the day that most support for the market is provided by the OPEC agreed cuts that led to a reduction of 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day since January 1.

He said recent price action may suggest traders believe the market is tightening. However, other reports indicate demand is expected to weaken this year.

Factory activity in China reports for February show a contraction for a third month, with signs of weakness in South Korea and Japan, Hyerczyk added.

The crude oil markets continue to look a bit lost, as we are simply bouncing around in a relatively tight range. The $57.75 region seems to be offering significant resistance, just as the $55.50 level seems offer support, Christopher Lewis, analyst at DailyForex, separately wrote.