Oil prices eke out small gains ahead of Fed Chair speech
Oil prices clawed back the previous day’s losses on Friday, with Brent nudging above $60 a barrel, as tighter supplies from key producers offset slowing demand growth while investors await clues from the Federal Reserve on U.S. monetary policy. Brent crude rose 10 cents to $60.02 a barrel by 0118 GMT, while U.S. crude futures were at $55.38 a barrel, up 3 cents. Both contracts were on track for a second weekly gain.
“Oil is set to trade quietly today as it’s all about the Jackson Hole (meeting) tonight,” Jeffrey Halley, a Singapore-based senior market analyst at brokerage Oanda. “What we’re seeing is some profit-taking in Asia in very light volumes.”
A speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later on Friday a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole is expected to provide some clues on whether the Fed will cut interest rates for a second time this year to boost the U.S. economy.
