Oil prices returned towards the US$100 mark after a turbulent week.
The oil traders breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as the Brent Crude price bounced back towards US$100.
This comes as buyers return to the market after a period of heavy selling and apparently liquidations. And after Thursday, when the oil price broke a six day losing streak, which at one point saw crude prices lose around 8%.
“The world was a much calmer place on the trading floor yesterday [Thursday]. A couple of big buyers moved in and took out the offers and after that buying activity was a one way ticket pretty much across the board,” VSA Capital’s oil expert Malcolm Graham Wood said in a note.
“This from a trading point of view was good news.”
It was reported today that OPEC will not hold an emergency meeting to discuss possible responses to the drop in oil prices.
The sell-off was precipitated by growth worries, and follows weeks of commentators saying that the market was over supplied. In fact, the negative sentiment was such that this week’s unexpected in American stockpiles did little to lift the mood.
In London trading on Friday, Brent Crude futures advanced over 70 cents at US$99.85, while West Texas Intermediary was up 35 cents at US$88.