FX.co ★ Oil Heads for Weekly Gain

WTI crude oil futures hovered around $63 per barrel on Friday, poised to achieve a 4% weekly increase—marking its initial rise after three weeks of declines. This upswing is fueled by optimism over peak seasonal demand, despite ongoing concerns regarding oversupply. Initially, price support stemmed from heightened geopolitical tensions, sparking fears of potential supply disruptions. The Canadian wildfires also played a role, temporarily curbing about 7% of the nation's output, though recent rainfall has helped mitigate some of the fires' effects. As the week progressed, bullish momentum waned following Saudi Arabia’s suggestion to substantially boost production. The kingdom advocated for OPEC+ to augment its output by a minimum of 411,000 barrels per day in August, and potentially September, to satisfy summer demand. They compounded this impact by reducing July crude prices for Asia to levels not seen in nearly four years, indicating a slackening in regional demand. Concurrently, investors maintained a vigilant focus on the US-China trade negotiations, assessing their possible repercussions on oil consumption.