From Bloomberg
Oil trimmed its third weekly advance as Canadian energy producers moved to resume operations after wildfires eased.
Futures slipped 0.3 percent in New York. Suncor Energy Inc. is seeking to return most of its workers by next week and begin startup of oil-sands facilities that were shut down by forest fires, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Prices climbed above $50 a barrel on Thursday as declining U.S. crude supplies eroded a global glut.
“Finally supply and demand are coming into balance,” said Mark Watkins, the Park City, Utah-based regional investment manager for The Private Client Group of U.S. Bank, which oversees $128 billion of assets. “There are going to be headwinds as you near the $50-$60 range. Inventories are still high and we have to work them off.”
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West Texas Intermediate for July delivery dropped 15 cents to close at $49.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Front-month WTI climbed 3.3 percent this week. Futures touched $50.21 Thursday, the highest since Oct. 9. Total volume traded was 43 percent below the 100-day average at 2:45 p.m.
Lower Cost
Brent for July settlement decreased 27 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $49.32 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Futures rose 1.2 percent this week. The contract reached $50.51 during trading Thursday, the highest since Nov. 4. The global benchmark closed at a 1-cent discount to WTI.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.5 percent, after touching the highest level since March earlier this week. A stronger greenback reduces the appeal of dollar-denominated commodities as an investment.
