U.S. crude futures briefly hit a 2019 high on Friday but later retreated along with benchmark Brent oil as worries about the global economy and robust U.S. production put a brake on prices.
Brent crude futures were at $66.92 per barrel, down 31 cents from their last settlement, and more than $1 off their 2019 peak of $68.14 reached on Thursday.“The market is still torn between economic concerns and high U.S. oil production on one hand and remarkable OPEC+ compliance on the other. The latter is greatly aided by unplanned cuts in production,” PVM oil broker Stephen Brennock said.
The International Energy Agency said on Friday that the market could show a modest surplus in the first quarter of 2019 before flipping into a deficit in the second quarter by about 0.5 million barrels per day . Preventing oil from rising further have been concerns that an economic slowdown that has gripped large parts of Asia and Europe will dent growth in fuel demand.But oil demand has held up well so far.