(New York) Oil prices ended near breakeven on Friday, after hitting their highest level in nearly two months, as traders continued to question the health of demand.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in August nibbled 0.02%, to close at $86.41.
A barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) of the same maturity lost 0.24%, to $81.54.
Earlier in the session, Brent and WTI had climbed to a high since late April. This peak triggered a wave of profit-taking, which sent prices falling.
“There is no identified catalyst that could take us even higher,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital.
“We hope that the demand [de produits raffinés] will be strong with the approach of July 4”, an American national holiday often marked by travel, “but it also corresponds to the peak of the season” in the United States, indicated the analyst.
“The seasonal effect will therefore quickly fade away,” he warned.
Operators are also worried about a slowdown in the American economy, highlighted by the latest indicators. The number of job seekers in the United States reached its highest level since November 2021 last week.
The PCE consumer price index confirmed on Friday the deceleration of inflation in the United States, an encouraging sign for the American central bank in the perspective of a possible reduction in the key rate.
“Rate cuts would encourage risk-taking” on the markets, recognizes John Kilduff, “but the problem is that they would aim to compensate for the drop in demand”, due to a deterioration in the job market and tighter conditions of access to credit.
Moreover, after having stimulated the prices, geopolitical tensions have moved into the background.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel did not want a war in Lebanon with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, while warning that his country could, in the event of a conflict, “take Lebanon back to the Stone Age.”