Mumbai, 10 Jun (Commoditiescontrol): Crude oil prices edged lower for a second consecutive session on Monday, pressured by a stronger dollar and postponed expectations for interest rate cuts following robust U.S. jobs data from Friday. Brent crude futures slipped 4 cents to $79.58 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 4 cents to $75.49 per barrel.
The recent U.S. labor report revealed higher-than-anticipated job additions in the previous month, leading investors to scale back their rate cut expectations and triggering a rally in the dollar. A firmer dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities like oil more costly for buyers using other currencies.
The euro also faced pressure amid eurozone uncertainty after French President Emmanuel Macron announced snap legislative elections for later in June, following a significant defeat by Marine Le Pen's far-right party in the European Union elections.
Market focus is now on the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings this week, with analysts anticipating potentially more hawkish outcomes.
Last week, Brent and WTI recorded their third consecutive weekly loss, driven by concerns that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+)'s plan to unwind production cuts starting in October will contribute to an increase in global supply. This announcement came alongside an increase in total commercial OECD crude and product stocks on land, which rose by an estimated 48 million barrels in May, compared to the average build of 30 million barrels during 2015-2019, according to energy consultancy FGE.
Despite these pressures, analysts and traders expect that summer holiday demand will reduce stockpiles and support prices. In the U.S., the government has increased crude oil purchases to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve following the price drop.
Last week, U.S. energy firms reduced the number of operating oil and natural gas rigs to the lowest level since January 2022, as reported by energy services firm Baker Hughes.
In the Middle East, Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani reported progress in negotiations with Kurdistan region officials and international companies to resume oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which previously accounted for about 0.5% of global oil supply.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)
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