Oil Seems Calm, But Are the Risks Growing?
Oil prices moved relatively stable in the Asian session on Friday, after rising nearly 1% in Thursday's trading. The February Brent contract fell slightly by 0.2% to around $63.15 per barrel, while WTI weakened 0.3% to around $59.30 per barrel. Despite the slight correction, WTI remains on track for a weekly gain of around 1.5%, indicating that market sentiment remains relatively stable.
One factor supporting prices came from the stalled Ukraine peace talks. A meeting between the US and Russia earlier this week failed to produce a breakthrough toward a ceasefire, dampening hopes for an easing of energy sanctions against Russia. This situation maintained concerns about oil supply disruptions, especially following Ukraine's attack on Russian energy infrastructure, keeping the market placing a risk premium on prices.
From a macro perspective, oil also received support from strong expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 25 basis points next week. US labor data provided mixed signals: jobless claims fell sharply to 191,000, but the private payroll report showed a reduction of 32,000 jobs in November. The market is now focused on the release of US PCE inflation data, the Fed's favorite indicator. If inflation appears to be weakening, the chances of policy easing increase—and that's usually positive for risk assets, including oil. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
