Brent crude eases, but stays near $70 as demand optimism lends support

SINGAPORE: Brent crude prices eased on Friday but hovered near $70 a barrel as production cuts by major oil producers constrained supply, with optimism about a recovery in demand for the resource in the second half of the year also lending support.

Brent crude futures for May slipped 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.52 a barrel by 0403 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude for April was at $65.83 a barrel, down 19 cents, or 0.3%.

Front-month Brent is on track to post weekly gains for the eighth week after touching a 13-month high on Monday following attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.

Sentiment was also buoyed by the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, earlier this month to largely hold production cuts in April.

Investors have been pumping funds into commodities such as oil on expectations of a demand recovery in the second half of the year as the global economy grows, while a wider rollout of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic allows more people to travel this summer.

"Assuming vaccination programmes are successful, we expect pent-up demand for gasoline to be released this summer during the US and European driving season," FGE analysts said in a note.

RBC Capital analysts said the fundamentals for summer gasoline is the most bullish in nearly a decade.

"We think this will support the entire oil complex this summer and beyond."

OPEC said on Thursday a recovery in oil demand will be focused on the second half of the year.

The United States, world's largest oil consumer, saw a massive draw on US gasoline stocks last week as the winter storm in Texas disrupted refining output.

Oil prices sustained at higher levels are expected to draw US producers to increase output, JP Morgan analysts said in their weekly note.

"At current prices, most US onshore operators are economic, leaving a vast group of operators, from large public companies to private players, in good position to ramp up activity in 2H21 and build solid momentum for higher volumes in 2022," JP Morgan said.

The bank now expects US crude oil production to average 11.78 million barrels per day (bpd) in December 2021, up 0.71 million bpd annually, with the full year volume to average 11.36 million bpd compared with 11.32 million bpd in 2020.