Oil prices continue to drop on Friday, which appears to be declaring its second weekly loss amid demand concerns and doubts that the US and Iran could reach a nuclear deal.
Brent crude futures dropped 35 cents, or 0.5%, at 0304 GMT to $75.61 a barrel, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures eased 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $70.94.
Oil prices are expected to remain in the range of around $3 above and below $70 for WTI in the near term.
Both benchmarks fell nearly $1 on Thursday and rebounded from previous losses of more than $3 after the United States and Iran denied Middle East Eye’s report that they were close to a nuclear deal. During the week, benchmarks are on their way to about 1% losses after losing about the same amount as the previous week.
Oil prices had risen early in the week following Saudi Arabia’s pledge over the weekend for deep output cuts, but they pared gains after rising U.S. fuel stocks and weak Chinese export data.
Factors of tighter supply and higher demand as the US enters the driving season were offset by concerns about the slow increase in fuel demand from China. Crude oil prices did not receive support from China as the economic recovery was disappointing.
A poll among economists showed that the US Federal Reserve may skip a rate hike at its June 13-14 meeting, while the lack of similar signals from other major central banks put pressure on the oil demand outlook.