Oil prices remain stable and expected to decline for a second week in a row

3 Nov 2023 , 10:00 AM

As concerns that the Middle East conflict would disrupt supply subsided and the U.S. central bank left the door open for potential future rate hikes, oil prices on Friday barely moved, heading into their second straight week of losses.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices increased by 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.58 a barrel, while Brent crude futures increased by 6 cents to $86.91 a barrel.

On Thursday, both benchmarks had increased by more over $2 per barrel. WTI was expected to close down 3.5%, while Brent was expected to drop by almost 4% for the week.

The main hub of the Gaza Strip, Gaza hub, was surrounded by Israeli soldiers on Thursday as part of an assault against Hamas, raising geopolitical concerns. However, the Palestinian militant group repelled the Israeli advance by launching hit-and-run operations from underground tunnels.

The White House reaffirmed its opposition to a complete ceasefire while stating that it was looking into a number of breaks in the Israel-Hamas conflict to assist civilians safely leave Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to enter.

Analysts predict that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, will reaffirm its voluntary reduction of one million barrels per day of oil output through December.

Data on the number of US oil rigs is anticipated later in the day and will be used as a predictor of future production.

In the meantime, the BoE provided a ‘hawkish’ pause to its rate hikes on Thursday, while the U.S. Federal provided a ‘dovish’ pause on Wednesday.

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