Crude Oil Prices – Weekly Outlook: Feb. 25 – Mar. 1

Investing.com – Oil traders will continue to focus on the outlook for global crude supplies in the week ahead amid signals that OPEC-led production cuts have helped tighten an oversupplied market.

Market players will also be watching for any important developments on the U.S.-China trade front this week, as the two sides race to strike a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline on new tariffs.

The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consuming nations. Hopes that the two sides would hammer out an agreement resolving their protracted trade war helped to ease worries about energy demand.

Fresh data on U.S. commercial crude inventories and production activity will also capture the market’s attention this week.

Oil prices rose on Friday to reach their best levels of the year.

U.S. tacked on 30 cents, or around 0.5%, to settle at $57.26 a barrel by close of trade. WTI earlier rose to its strongest level since Nov. 16 at $57.81.

For the week, the U.S. benchmark rose about 3%.

Meanwhile, International futures ended Friday’s session up 5 cents at $67.12 a barrel. It touched a more than three-month high of $67.73 earlier in the day.

Brent prices saw a gain of about 1.3% on the week.

After ending 2018 in freefall, oil prices have rallied approximately 25% to start the year, boosted by efforts by global producers to cut supply.

In December, OPEC and a group of 10 producers outside the cartel, led by Russia, agreed to collectively cut production by a total of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first six months of 2019.

Top exporter and OPEC’s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia recently pledged to cut even more production than the deal called for.

The cuts come alongside involuntary production curbs as a result of U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan and Iranian crude, along with curtailed Libyan output because of civil unrest.

Looming over oil markets in the near term, meanwhile, is the rise in U.S. crude oil production to a record 12.0 million bpd.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of the main events likely to affect the oil market.

Tuesday, Feb. 26

The American Petroleum Institute is to publish its weekly update on U.S. oil supplies.

Wednesday, Feb. 27

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil stockpiles.

Friday, Mar. 1

Baker Hughes will release weekly data on the U.S. oil rig count.

— Reuters contributed to this report

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