Mumbai, 1 Apr (Commoditiescontrol): Crude oil prices are largely unchanged on Monday, latching on to their recent gains amid expectations of tighter supply from OPEC+ cuts, attacks on Russian refineries and upbeat Chinese manufacturing data.
Brent crude fell 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $86.83 a barrel after rising 2.4% last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $83.06 a barrel, down 11 cents, or 0.1%, following a 3.2% gain last week.
Trade volumes are expected to be thin on Monday as several countries are closed for Easter holiday.
Both benchmarks finished higher for a third consecutive month, with Brent holding above $85 a barrel since mid-March, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, pledged to extend production cuts to the end of June which could tighten crude supply during summer in the northern hemisphere.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that its oil companies will focus on reducing output rather than exports in the second quarter in order to evenly spread production cuts with other OPEC+ member countries.
Drone attacks knocked out several Russian refineries, which is expected to reduce Russia's fuel exports.
Almost 1 million barrels per day of Russian crude processing capacity is offline amid the attacks, impacting its high-sulphur fuel oil exports which is processed at Chinese and Indian refineries, the consultancy added.
In Europe, oil demand was firmer than expected, rising 100,000 bpd on year in February, Goldman Sachs analysts said, versus its forecast of a 200,000 bpd contraction in 2024.
Still, China's manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March, an official factory survey showed on Sunday, supporting oil demand at the world's largest crude importer, even as a crisis in the property sector remains a drag on the economy.
Investors are also scouring U.S. economic data for signs of when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year which will support the global economy and oil demand.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)
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