Crude oil and refined product futures fell across the board Friday, as an uncertain economic outlook over the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates prompted investors to lessen bullish positions ahead of the weekend.
At 12:10 p.m. ET, April Nymex West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped about 70cts to $78.20/bbl, and May WTI slipped 65cts to $77.65 a barrel.
London-based ICE Brent crude contracts for May delivery was down 70cts to $82.25/bbl, and June Brent fell 65cts to $81.65/bbl.
For the week, both crude oil benchmarks are set to finish the week about $1 lower.
Diesel futures fell after a two-week gain. April Nymex ULSD slid 4.4cts to $2.6505/bbl, and May ULSD declined 3.7cts to $2.596 a gallon. April RBOB was 2.25cts lower at $2.5325/gal, and May RBOB weakened by 2.25cts to $2.5245/gal.
Some of Friday's petroleum futures weakness could be attributed to news that TC Energy has resumed service of its Keystone Pipeline, a major line to supply Canadian oil to the U.S. for refinery consumption and export via the U.S. Gulf Coast. Keystone Pipeline was suspended earlier in the week as a precautionary measure, the Calgary-based company said.
On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was "not far" from feeling confident that inflation has fallen enough to justify interest rate cuts.
There is also some underpinning in the market after OPEC and its allies said earlier this week they would extend the group's production cuts in a bid to prevent oversupply and support oil prices.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-08-24 1252ET
