U.S. ECONOMY POWERS AHEAD

Signs of strength in the U.S. economy helped keep bears at bay. 

Data released on Friday showed U.S. job growth accelerated in May and the unemployment rate dropped to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent, indicating a rapidly tightening labour market.

The strong report added to a string of upbeat economic data, including consumer spending, industrial production and construction spending, making the Federal Reserve all but certain to raise interest rates at its policy meeting next week.

U.S. Treasury yields edged higher, with 10-year paper at 2.9076 percent, while the dollar eased 0.4 percent against its currency basket to 93.802.

U.S. crude futures traded lower at $65.40, back at their lowest levels in nearly two months. Rising U.S. crude production and a glut due to a lack of pipeline capacity have pressured prices.

Global benchmark Brent was down 1.3 percent at $75.76.

Oil prices rise for a third straight session; IEA growth forecast

Oil Stock Markets

Oil prices rose on Tuesday for a third straight session, underpinned by robust demand forecasts and as ministers from OPEC touted the strength of its agreement with global producers to cut output in order to bolster the market. 

International benchmark Brent crude futures were at$65.61 per barrel at 0428 GMT, up 7 cents, or 0.11 percent. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.67 a barrel, up 10 cents, or 0.16 percent. 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday global oil demand was expected to grow over the next five years, while output from producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would rise at a much slower pace. 

The IEA’s comments on increased demand, made during the CERAWeek conference in Houston on Monday, preceded statements from OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo that called the supply cut agreement with global producers “as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.” 

Barkindo’s statements supporting the agreement and the benefits of keeping supply restrained, along with the IEA demand outlook, was supportive for prices. 

“Oil was higher, however, as the prospects for increased demand and a little bit of jawboning at the CERAWeek conference helped,” said Greg Mckenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader in a note. 

To fill the gap between OPEC and global demand, the IEA said the United States would supply much of the oil demand as its shale oil production was set to surge. 

U.S. crude production has risen to more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd), overtaking top exporter Saudi Arabia. Output hit a record 10.057 million bpd in November, according to the U.S. Energy Department. 

BMI Research said in a note to clients on Tuesday that it has revised its 2018 Brent crude price forecast upward to $67 a barrel due to “accelerated market rebalancing and strong sentiment-driven support.” 

“We maintain that firming global demand and weaker supply growth will support crude prices over 2018,” the note added. 

Elsewhere, Libya’s El Sharara oil field resumed operations on Monday. The field, operated by Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), was shut down on Sunday after a landowner closed a valve on a pipeline crossing his land.

Oil prices stable on lower US crude stocks, but rising output weighs

Oil Stock Markets

U.S. commercial crude stocks fall to lowest level since 2015 but U.S. crude output hits highest since 1970s. Saudi Arabia says it will take more time to re-balance markets

Oil prices were stable on Thursday after posting strong gains late in the previous session on the back of a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Another rise in U.S. oil production, which is close to breaking through 10 million barrels per day (bpd) is capping crude prices as it undermines efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia to tighten the market through withholding output this year and next.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.05 a barrel at 0126 GMT, down 3 cents from their last settlement.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $64.58 a barrel, down 8 cents.

Both crude benchmarks gained around 1 percent during the previous session.

Traders said falling U.S. crude oil inventories were supporting the market.

U.S. crude inventories <C-STK-T-EIA> fell by 6.5 million barrels in the week to Dec. 15, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Overall crude stocks, excluding the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell to 436 million barrels, the lowest since October, 2015.
The rebalancing of supply and demand is a result of OPEC and Russian led voluntary production cuts.

Despite this, the energy minister of Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter and OPEC's de-facto leader, said it would take more time to rein in the global supply overhang, which was created by strong global production increases in the years up to 2015.

OPEC's and Russia's efforts to rebalance markets and prop up prices are being undermined by rising production in the United States, which does not participate in the deal to cut.

U.S. crude production <C-OUT-T-EIA> hit 9.79 million bpd last week, its highest since the early 1970s, the only time American production breached 10 million bpd.

This brings U.S. output close to that of top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, which pump around 10 and 11 million bpd.

Oil traders this week eyed with interest the passing of a U.S. tax bill, which is seen to weigh on crude prices in the longer term.

Oil prices dip after U.S. crude hits near 2-year high on pipeline shutdown

Oil Stock Markets

Oil prices eased on Thursday, with U.S. crude dipping away from two-year highs reached the day before, but the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline and a drawdown in fuel inventories continued to bolster markets despite worries over rising output.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.89 a barrel at 0437 GMT, down 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last settlement, but still close to 2015-highs of $58.15 a barrel reached on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $63.17 per barrel, 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, below their last close.

WTI has been buoyed by the shutdown of the 590,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Keystone pipeline, one of the largest crude pipelines from Canada to the United States, as well as by another drawdown in commercial fuel inventories that came despite record U.S. oil production.

U.S. crude inventories C-STK-T-EIA fell 1.9 million barrels in the week to Nov. 17, to 457.14 million barrels. Stocks have dropped by 15 percent from their records in March, to below 2016 levels.

Another large drawdown in inventories buoyed investor sentiment, ANZ bank said.

The inventory drop came as the Keystone pipeline connecting Canada’s Alberta oilfields to the United States was shut last week after an oil spill in South Dakota. Operator TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO) is cutting deliveries through at least the end of the month. nL1N1NS10X

The tightening U.S. oil market means the WTI forward price curve has moved from contango, when prices for future delivery are more expensive than those for immediate dispatch, into backwardation, where spot prices are higher than those for later delivery.

Backwardation indicates a tightening market as it incentivises traders to sell oil immediately instead of putting it into storage.

Markets are also tightening globally due to an effort led by the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a group of non-OPEC producers, including Russia, to withhold output.

The deal to curb production is due to expire in March 2018, but OPEC will meet on Nov. 30 to discuss the outlook for the policy, and it is expected to extend the cuts. Top exporter and de-facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia is lobbying for extended output restrictions.

Threatening to undermine OPEC’s efforts, however, is U.S. production C-OUT-T-EIA, which has risen by 15 percent since mid-2016 to a record 9.66 million bpd.

This has turned the United States from the world’s biggest importer of crude oil into a significant exporter, with production now second only to Russia and Saudi Arabia.

RECORD RUN

The year-long global surge in stocks, driven by the pick-up in growth, corporate profits and still ultra-low interest rates, was set to see MSCI’s 47-country ‘All World’ index .MIWD00000PUS top the 2003 run of 11 straight months of gains. 

Wall Street was expected to start fractionally higher following a dip from the last round of record highs on Monday [.N]. 

MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS had ended up 0.4 percent, as strong gains in South Korea and Taiwan, which make up roughly a quarter of the index’s weighting, offset weakness in China and Hong Kong. 

Chinese data had shown a sharper-than-expected slowdown in October factory growth.

Beijing’s war on winter air pollution is forcing many northern steel mills, smelters and factories to curtail production, adding to uncertainty amid early signs of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. 

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 ended up 1 percent at a record high after Seoul and Beijing agreed to normalize relations that have been strained by a year-long standoff over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. 

Tech-heavy Taiwan .TWII added 0.4 percent after Apple (AAPL.O) made big gains overnight on hopes of strong demand for its new range of iPhones. 

Japan's Nikkei .N225 closed flat, capped by the overnight weakness in U.S. shares and a stronger yen. The Bank of Japan meanwhile stressed it saw no reason to end its mass stimulus program. 

The dollar's rebound ahead of U.S. trading pulled it off a 10-day low of 113.02 yen JPY= struck after details of charges for former Trump aides were disclosed. It was last at 113.32 yen. 

The euro was softer at $1.1637 EUR=. It had pulled back overnight from a three-month low of $1.1574 on Friday. 

Among commodities, crude oil prices steadied below their recent peaks after being boosted by expectations OPEC-led production cuts would be extended beyond March. [O/R] 

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 0.1 percent at $60.80 a barrel after rising to $61 overnight, the highest since July 2015. 

U.S. crude CLc1 was 0.15 percent lower at $54.10 after touching $54.46, its highest since late February.

Spot gold XAU= was also a fraction lower at $1,274 per ounce. It has shed about 0.3 percent so far in October, in what could be its second straight monthly decline.

U.S. crude stockpiles drop as refineries restart: EIA

U.S. crude stocks fell last week as refineries hiked output because they restarted following Hurricane Harvey, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week to Sept. 22, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 3.4 million barrels. 

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 1.2 million barrels, EIA said. 

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 1 million barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 5.4 percentage points. 

Gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 1.1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 921,000-barrel drop. 

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 814,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 2.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. 

U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell last week by 504,000 barrels per day.

Global fuel prices jump as Harvey's impact ripples beyond U.S. Gulf

Tropical Storm Harvey’s impact on the energy industry spread worldwide as flooded U.S. refiners and closed fuel pipelines threatened to squeeze national supply, roiling global fuel markets and rerouting millions of barrels of fuel to the Americas to avert shortages. 

The storm, which lashed Louisiana with rain on Thursday, has pummeled the U.S. Gulf Coast, immersing Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area in several feet of water and forcing the closure of about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity. 

Benchmark U.S. gasoline prices RBc1 and margins RBc1-Clc1 surged anew on Thursday. The jump came after the Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, said it would shut its main lines to the Northeast by Thursday amid outages at pumping points and lack of supply from refiners.

At least two East Coast refineries have run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they scrambled to fill barges for markets normally supplied by the Gulf Coast, two refinery sources said.

On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Department said it would release 500,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to supply the refineries that are still running in an effort to stem fuel shortages. 

The first emergency release from the reserve since 2012 will be delivered to the Phillips 66 (PSX.N) refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to a department statement. 

Concerns over fuel shortages ahead of the U.S. Labor Day extended weekend were mounting, said analysts at JBC Energy. 

U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 topped $2 per gallon for the first time since 2015, up more than 20 percent since just before the storm began, while U.S. crude oil prices were on track for their steepest monthly losses in more than a year.

Average U.S. retail fuel prices have surged by more than a dime per gallon from a week ago, the AAA said early on Thursday.

Crude falls as flooding from Harvey roils U.S. oil industry

U.S. crude futures fell in Asian trading on Friday, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Clc1 was down 27 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $46.96 barrel at 0434 GMT. The contract rebounded 2.8 percent on Thursday but is still heading for a weekly decline of 1.9 percent. 

The new Brent LCOc1 contract for November delivery was down 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $52.78 barrel. The contract for October delivery, which ended trading on Thursday, closed up $1.52, or 2.99 percent, at $52.38 a barrel. 

U.S. gasoline futures have rallied more than 28 percent to a two-year high above $2 a gallon, buoyed by fears of a fuel shortage days ahead of the U.S. Labor Day weekend’s traditional surge in driving. 

Gasoline for September delivery settled up 25.52 cents, or 13.5 percent, at $2.1399 on the last day of trading in the contract. Gasoline for October delivery RBc1 was down 0.2 percent at $1.7750. 

“It looks like everyone thinks that the hurricane will affect refining more than production,” said Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. “Production will come back faster than refining so it is just going to exacerbate the situation where there’s too much oil.” 

U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week even as refineries hiked output in the run up to Harvey’s approach, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

That should encourage OPEC and non-OPEC members that are trying to restrict supplies to boost prices that are about half the level of three years ago. 

But market rebalancing may take longer than expected if production comes back in the United States and refiners cannot feed that output into flooded refineries. 

The Dollar's Recent Advance Slowed, The Euro Steady

The dollar's recent advance slowed as rate hike expectations were dented. The greenback was up 0.05 percent at 110.015 yen JPY= having gone as high as 110.675 overnight, its strongest in two weeks. 

The euro was steady at $1.1910 EUR= after plumbing a one-week low of $1.1823 overnight. 

The financial markets looked to the U.S. jobs report due at 1230 GMT for further clues on the state of the world’s largest economy. 

Economists polled by Reuters expect U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 180,000 jobs in August after surging 209,000 in July and average hourly earnings to have increased 0.2 percent after rising 0.3 percent in July. 

“The wages component of the jobs report will be key. If earnings are to have picked up along with employment, we will see a straightforward reaction with U.S. stocks and yields rising and the dollar being bought,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. 

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was 0.1 percent lower at 92.603.The index slipped about 0.2 percent on Thursday and was poised to end 0.1 percent lower on the week in which it hit a 2-1/2-year low of 91.621 on geopolitical tensions before bouncing back. 

In commodities, crude futures fell, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline. 

U.S. crude futures CLc1 was down 0.5 percent at $47.01 per barrel. The futures had surged 2.8 percent on Thursday following a steep drop the previous day, during a week in which the hurricane roiled the oil market. 

Gold was near a 9-1/2-month high, supported as the dollar came off its recent highs and by lingering concerns over tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

OIL IMPACT

U.S. crude futures fell as the refinery shutdowns could reduce demand for American crude.

Brent futures also eased, but losses were capped as pipeline blockades in Libya slashed the OPEC country’s production by nearly 400,000 barrels per day.

Harvey is the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, killing at least two people, causing large-scale flooding, and forcing the closure of Houston port as well as several refineries.

It has knocked out a quarter of oil production from the Gulf of Mexico, prompting fears it could overturn years of excess U.S. oil capacity and low prices.

U.S. economic growth more than halved in the quarter after Hurricane Katrina mauled Louisiana in August 2005, but bounced back by early 2006 as reconstruction began and gasoline prices moderated.

Asian stock markets including Japan’s Nikkei index ended the session little changed, though shares in Japanese property and casualty insurers skidded as investors fretted about the broader impact of the U.S. storm.

In contrast, China’s major stock indexes rose to 20-month highs after a series of strong earnings.

Markets mostly dismissed North Korea’s firing of three short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday.

Dollar revives, Sterling Touches Two Months Low

The dollar added about 0.1 percent to 109.11 yen JPY=D4, having lost 0.5 percent overnight, after managing to contain losses on Wednesday in Asia following Trump's comments. 

The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, also gained 0.1 percent to 93.226 on Thursday, following the previous day's 0.4 percent slide.

Also undermining the dollar were Trump's threats to end the North American Free Trade Agreement, after three-way first-round talks that ended on Sunday failed to bridge differences.

The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 strengthened about 0.1 percent to C$1.2543 per dollar and the Mexican peso MXN= was little changed at 17.68. 

Investors are also keeping a close eye on a central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which begins on Thursday, where Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are both due to speak, although new policy messages are seen as unlikely.

The euro EUR=EBS was steady at $1.1807, after climbing 0.4 percent on Wednesday on strong German and French manufacturing and services sector surveys. 

Sterling GBP=D4 touched a two-month low on Thursday and was trading down 0.1 percent from Wednesday's close at $1.2789. 

Bitcoin BTC=BTSP inched up 0.6 percent to $4,131, but remained off its all-time high of $4,480 hit a week ago. It is up 331 percent this year. 

In commodities, oil prices crept lower as rising U.S. oil output dampened some of the optimism that had accompanied eight straight weeks of declines in U.S. crude inventories. 

U.S. crude CLc1 slipped 0.1 percent to $48.37 a barrel, after rising 2.2 percent over the previous two sessions. 

Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 was unchanged at $52.57, after climbing 1.8 percent in the past two days. 

Gold XAU= was also steady at $1,289.66 an ounce, retaining Wednesday's 0.4 percent jump.

Oil prices rise on signs of tightening market

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, lifted by indications that supply is gradually tightening, especially in the United States. 

Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 40 cents at $52.06 a barrel by 0715 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was 35 cents higher at $47.72. 

"U.S. crude oil stocks have been falling consistently in recent weeks," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com. 

"If the downtrend in oil inventories is maintained, then a bullish case can be made for oil, especially given the ongoing supply restrictions from OPEC and Russia," he added. 

U.S. commercial crude inventories have fallen by almost 13 percent from their March peaks, to 466.5 million barrels. C-STK-T-EIA 

U.S. crude production has broken through 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd), its highest since July 2015, but analysts say growth may slow as U.S. energy firms cut the number of rigs drilling for new oil. C-OUT-T-EIA RIG-OL-USA-BHI

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers including Russia have pledged to hold back around 1.8 million bpd of output between January this year and March 2018 in order to tighten supplies and prop up prices. 

The weekly rollout of data on U.S. inventories starts later on Tuesday, giving the market a chance to see if the recent downward trend in U.S. crude stocks is continuing. 

Industry group the American Petroleum Institute will publish statistics on crude inventories and refinery operations for last week at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT).

On Wednesday, it will be the turn of the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration.

U.S. crude inventories are expected to have fallen for an eighth straight week and drop by 3.4 million barrels, a Reuters poll shows.

Oil prices steady after overnight tumble on dollar strength, China concerns

Oil prices steadied on Tuesday after sharp falls the session before to the lowest in about three weeks as a stronger U.S. dollar and a drop in Chinese refining runs hit the market.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $50.76 at 0551 GMT. That was just above the contract's 100-day moving average, briefly breached in the previous session.

Oil prices tumbled more than 2.5 percent on Monday in volatile trade as the dollar strength and the demand concerns in China, the world's second-largest oil user, weighed on sentiment. A stronger dollar tends to limit the demand for oil for buyers paying in other currencies. Both Brent and WTI had reached two-month highs on Aug. 10.

Chinese oil refineries operated in July at their lowest daily rates since September 2016, official data showed on Monday, to ease brimming inventories as state-owned oil giants faced off independents in a retail petrol price war. 

The dollar firmed on Tuesday after North Korea's leader signalled that he would delay plans to fire a missile near Guam, further easing tensions and prompting investors to move back into riskier assets. 

The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, climbed 0.4 percent on Monday and was up 0.1 percent on Tuesday. 

An announcement by the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) that it had lifted a force majeure on Bonny Light crude exports also added to market surplus woes. 

Oil prices had earlier on Monday been supported by reports that Libya's top oilfield had cut its output by 30 percent on security concerns.

U.S. crude stockpiles USOILC=ECI likely fell for the seventh consecutive week, along with a probable fall in distillate and gasoline inventories last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed.

The weekly U.S. crude inventory report from the industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) is due out later on Tuesday. Official U.S. government statistics will be released on Wednesday. 

Efforts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers to limit output have helped lift Brent past $50 a barrel, but concerns remain that these efforts could be undermined by producers in the U.S. and other countries. 

U.S. shale oil production is expected to grow for its ninth consecutive month in September to 6.15 million barrels per day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday.

Oil prices jump on falling U.S. fuel inventories, lower production outlook

Oil prices rose more than 1.5 percent on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous day as the U.S. government cut its crude production outlook for next year and as fuel inventories plunged. 

Brent crude futures were up 76 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $48.28 per barrel by 0429 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $45.82 per barrel, up 78 cents, or 1.7 percent.

Both settled about 1.4 percent higher on Tuesday.

U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 8.1 million barrels in the week to July 7 to 495.6 million, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), in an indictor that a long-standing fuel supply overhang is starting to draw down. 

Also, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said late on Tuesday that it expected 2018 crude oil output to rise to 9.9 million barrels per day (bpd) from 9.3 million bpd this year, a 570,000 bpd increase. This was down from last month's forecast 680,000 bpd year-over-year increase. 

Despite the slight downward revision, U.S. production is still set to break the 9.61 million bpd record from June 2015.

At the same time, output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) remains high despite a pledge led by the producer group to cut supplies between January of this year and March 2018 in order to tighten the market and prop up prices. 

Asian shares edge up as investors await Yellen testimony

Asian shares and the dollar cautiously edged higher on Tuesday, as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues on when the central bank would tighten U.S. monetary policy.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged a few points higher in early trading, with sentiment underpinned by technology-led gains on Wall Street. 

Japan's Nikkei stock index .N225 was up 0.1 percent, while Australian shares slipped 0.2 percent. 

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, added 0.1 percent to 96.094 .DXY ahead of Yellen's semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.

Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar added 0.2 percent to 114.21 JPY=, moving back toward a two-month high of 114.30 touched overnight, while the euro inched slightly lower on the day to $1.1393 EUR=. 

The Canadian dollar CAD= was nearly flat against its U.S. counterpart as investors awaited a Bank of Canada interest rate decision on Wednesday. 

Forecasters are divided on whether the central bank will raise rates but data from the overnight index swaps market shows that money markets are almost fully priced for an increase, while an 80 percent chance of a second hike has been implied by December. 

Crude oil prices extended their overnight gains, even as increased drilling activity in the United States and uncertainty over Libyan and Nigerian production cuts clouded the future supply outlook.

U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 0.4 percent to $44.56 a barrel after adding 0.4 percent on Monday, while Brent crude LCOc1 was 0.3 percent higher at $$47.04.

Oil prices fall further with glut concerns persisting

Oil turned lower on Thursday after posting gains earlier in the session as traders look ready to test new lows for crude prices with worries persisting over a global glut.

Brent crude futures were down 15 cents at $44.67 a barrel at 0715 GMT, after spending much of the Asian trading day in positive territory. They fell 2.6 percent in the previous session to their lowest since November.

U.S. crude futures were down 14 cents $42.39 a barrel, after also spending much of the day trading higher. On Wednesday, they settled down at $42.53, after touching their lowest intraday level since August 2016.

Since peaking in late February, crude has dropped around 20 percent, with only brief rallies, completely erasing gains at the end of the year in the wake of the initial OPEC-led production cut.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day from January for six months, subsequently extended for a further nine months.

The market largely shrugged off comments overnight from Iran's oil minister that members of OPEC are considering deeper cuts in production.

Crude inventories fell 2.5 million barrels in the week to June 16, surpassing analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.1 million barrels, as imports rose marginally by 56,000 barrels per day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Gasoline stocks fell 578,000 barrels, compared with analyst expectations for a seasonally unusual 443,000-barrel gain, which had been seen as bearish in the market.

Stocks of the motor fuel had also risen unexpectedly by 2.1 million barrels in the previous week, despite the start of the summer driving season.

The Dollar Had Little Changed On Monday

The dollar was little changed on Monday. On Friday, it fell after U.S. homebuilding dropped for a third month in May to the lowest in eight months and a barometer of U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in early June, prompting concerns about the Federal Reserve's plans to stick with its monetary policy tightening.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global peers, was little changed at 97.182, failing to make up any of Friday's 0.3 percent loss.

The market is awaiting comments by New York Fed President William Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, when he speaks at a business roundtable in New York state.

"In the wake of Friday's weak U.S. data, Dudley could provide insight into whether the Fed is still poised to continue normalising monetary policy," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

"My view is that Dudley won't sound too dovish, and thus allow the dollar's gradual rise to resume."
The greenback fared better against the Japanese yen, which remained weak after the Bank of Japan left its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged last week.

The yen didn't respond to data on Monday showing Japanese exports rose at their fastest pace in May since January 2015.

The dollar added 0.1 percent to 110.98 yen, after touching a two-week high on Friday.

In commodities, oil futures lingered near six-week lows, as concerns about a supply glut amid faltering demand.

U.S. crude slipped 0.35 percent to $44.58 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent dropped 0.3 percent to $47.21.

Gold touched a 3-1/2-week low earlier in the session, and was trading down slightly at $1,252.70 an ounce at 0500 GMT.

Oil prices fall as OPEC output, U.S. crude stockpiles rise

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data showed a build in U.S. crude stocks and OPEC reported a rise in its production despite a pledge to cut output. 

Brent crude oil was down 45 cents a barrel at $48.27 by 0755 GMT. U.S. crude was 50 cents lower at $45.96.

Crude prices have fallen more than 10 percent since late May, pulled down by heavy global oversupply that has persisted despite a move led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to curb production.

OPEC and other exporters such as Russia have agreed to keep production almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) below the levels pumped at the end of last year and not to increase output until the end of the first quarter of 2018.

But adherence to the cuts is under scrutiny and the producer group said this week that its output rose by 336,000 bpd in May to 32.14 million bpd.

Oil stocks are near record highs in some parts of the world, and producers that are not part of the OPEC deal are increasing output.

Shale supply has pushed U.S. crude production up by about 10 percent over the last year to 9.3 million bpd - not far below the output of top exporter Saudi Arabia.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks rose by 2.8 million barrels in the week to June 9 to 511.4 million, compared with expectations for a decrease of 2.7 million barrels.

With supplies plentiful, strong demand is needed to support the market, but there are signs of a slowdown.

Global energy demand grew by 1 percent in 2016, a rate similar to the previous two years but well below the 10-year average of 1.8 percent, BP said in its benchmark Statistical Review of World Energy on Tuesday.

NO SMOKING GUN

There was much less drama elsewhere, as the Japanese yen gave up early gains and eased to 110.38 per dollar JPY=. The euro was also down 0.35 percent against the U.S. dollar at $1.1173 EUR=.

The single currency had slipped overnight when the European Central Bank cut forecasts for inflation and said it had not discussed scaling back its massive bond-buying campaign, sending bond yields to multi-month lows.

Italian bond yields fell again on Friday as the head of the country's ruling Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, said he was pessimistic over the chances of reaching a new cross-party pact on a reform of the electoral law.

Political analysts see that as reducing the chances of a snap election in the coming months.
Overnight, Wall Street had also seemingly judged that the testimony of former FBI director James Comey was not life-threatening for the administration of President Donald Trump.

Comey accused Trump of firing him to try to undermine the investigation into possible collusion by his campaign team with Russia's alleged efforts to influence the 2016 election.

"I think the market is taking less of an alarmist review of this situation because there is no smoking gun here," said Jefferies & Co money market economist Thomas Simons.

"So it's not particularly impactful for thinking about ... Trump's economic agenda to go through."
The Dow .DJI rose 0.04 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.03 percent and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC 0.39 percent

In commodity markets, spot gold XAU= was 0.3 percent lower at $1,274.45 an ounce.
Oil prices remained subdued, with Brent having settled at its lowest since Nov. 29, the eve of an OPEC production cut deal.

U.S. crude futures CLc1 edged up 10 cents to $45.76 a barrel, with Brent crude LCOc1 at $47.95. [O/R] Both benchmarks are down roughly 4 percent in what will be a third consecutive weekly fall.

OPEC disappointment hits oil, stocks; sterling down on UK vote jitters

Oil prices weakened on Friday, prompting a move away from riskier assets and depressing Asian stocks, after an OPEC agreement to extend cuts in crude production for a further nine months disappointed investors who had bet on bigger output cuts.

In the currency market, sterling fell 0.5 percent to $1.288, its biggest one-day slide in over three weeks, after a YouGov poll showed Britain's opposition Labour Party had reduced the lead of Prime Minister May's Conservatives to five points, less than a fortnight before a national election.

Sterling had lost 0.3 percent on Thursday following data that showed Britain's economy slowed more than previously thought in the first quarter of this year.

European stock markets look set for a muted start, with financial spreadbetter CMC Markets expecting Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX to open flat and France's CAC 40 to be down 0.1 percent.

U.S. crude prices tumbled 0.6 percent to $48.57 a barrel on Friday, after losing 4.8 percent overnight, set to end the week 3.5 percent lower.

Global benchmark Brent fell 0.5 percent to $51.18, after slumping 4.6 percent overnight. It is on track for a 4.5 percent weekly loss.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers agreed at a meeting in Vienna on Thursday to extend supply cuts of 1.8 million barrels per day until the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Most investors had already factored in this outcome as Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier in May that a nine month extension was needed, but some had bet on the producers agreeing to bigger reductions in supplies.