Oil prices rise again as output cuts kick in to offset slump in fuel demand; US crude inventories grow less than expected
FirstpostOil prices gave up some of their earlier gains as the month of May began with more of the volatility that made last month one of the most turbulent in the history of oil trading, when US futures briefly crashed into negative territory. Tokyo: Oil prices rose on Friday, extending the previous session’s gains, as major producers began output cuts to offset a slump in fuel demand triggered by the coronavirus pandemic while data showed US crude inventories grew less than expected. Reflecting the output cuts agreed between OPEC and other major producers like Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, the imbalance between oil supply and demand is to set to be halved to 13.6 million barrels per day in May, and drop further to 6.1 million bpd in June, according to Rystad Energy. Also supporting prices was data from the US Energy Information Administration data showing crude inventories rose by 9 million barrels last week to 527.6 million barrels, less than the 10.6 million-barrel rise analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.