Oil prices choppy

1 min read

Oil prices edged higher on Friday, hovering near 11-month highs hit the previous day, as Saudi Arabia’s pledge to make voluntary cuts to its output continued to buoy the mood in the market though worries over slower fuel demand capped gains.

Brent crude climbed 2 cents to $54.40 a barrel by 0122 GMT, after closing slightly higher the previous day. It touched $54.90 on Thursday, the highest since February.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also gained 2 cents to $50.85 a barrel. The contract closed up 0.4% on Thursday after also hitting its highest since February at $51.28.

Both benchmarks are on track for gains of about 5% for this week.

“Oil markets are expected to stay in a bullish tone toward February on the back of Saudi’s surprise promise to cut production,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.

Earlier this week Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, said it would cut output by an additional 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in February and March.