HOUSTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices edged up during the Good Friday trading week, with the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery up 0.17 percent and Brent crude oil for June delivery up 0.59 percent.
The overall sentiment in the market was buoyed by upbeat U.S. earnings, better Chinese and U.S. fundamentals. Meanwhile, the ongoing production cuts by The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, as well as the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and the looming deadline for a decision on Iran sanctions waivers continued to play its role in tightening the global supplies, in turn, keeping the prices supported.
At the end of the Good Friday trading week, WTI settled up at 64.00 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude closed up at 71.91 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. WTI and Brent have increased 40.94 percent and 33.77 percent, respectively, so far this year.
During the week, WTI and Brent moved in the same directions, closing down on Monday and Wednesday, while closing up on Tuesday and Thursday.
Oil prices fell on Monday, as the market was weighed by Russia's intention to increase supply with OPEC to compete for more market share. WTI decreased 0.49 dollar to settle at 63.40 U.S. dollars a barrel, while Brent crude decreased 0.37 dollar to close at 71.18 dollars a barrel.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, as investors have been worried about falling global supply due to U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, as well as clashes in Libya. WTI increased 0.65 dollar to settle at 64.05 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude increased 0.54 dollar to close at 71.72 dollars a barrel.
On Wednesday, oil prices dropped slightly as the decline in U.S. weekly oil stockpiles fell short of market estimates, which had expected larger decrease. WTI decreased 0.29 dollar to settle at 63.76 U.S. dollars a barrel, while Brent crude decreased 0.1 dollar to close at 71.62 dollars a barrel.
Oil prices rebounded slightly on Thursday, as U.S. weekly rigs for drilling oil fell for the first time in three weeks. WTI rose 0.24 dollar to settle at 64.00 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude was up 0.35 dollar to close at 71.97 dollars a barrel.
Oil prices have kept gaining momentum since the start of the year due to some geopolitical concerns. However, a rising U.S. dollar has dragged down the greenback-denominated crude futures, as the U.S. Dollar Index has been keeping uptrend in the last 12 months. U.S. Dollar Index edged up for the week, hitting 97.40 level.
The U.S. Dollar Index is a measure of the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies. Oil is mostly traded in dollars all over the world and a stronger dollar pressures the oil demand.
In the near future, demand growth and geopolitical issues are important factors to affect oil prices. Both OPEC and the International Energy Agency believe the world oil demand will keep uptrend in coming years, although OPEC has revised down demand growth of the world oil market.
According to its April Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), OPEC forecast that for 2019, world oil demand growth is estimated to increase by 1.21 million barrels per day (mb/d), revised lower by around 0.03 mb/d from last month's estimate. This was largely driven by revisions in economic growth expectations for the OECD region in 2019.
