Oil prices held steady early on Tuesday as markets weighed supply woes from cuts for August by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia against mixed analyst views on economic data that could hint at weak crude demand.
Brent crude futures rose by 43 cents, or 0.58%, at $75.08 a barrel by 0322 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude were at $70.22 a barrel, up by 43 cents, or 0.62%.
“Fundamentals are not having as much influence on price direction as one would expect. Instead, the uncertain macro outlook is what the market is focused on,” ING analysts said in a client note.
“It is difficult seeing this pattern changing significantly in the short term, though the additional cuts do put a stronger floor in place for Brent at around US$70/bbl,” ING analysts added.
U.S. markets will be closed on Tuesday for the nation’s Independence Day holiday. Oil benchmarks had settled down about 1% in the previous session. Saudi Arabia on Monday said it would extend its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from output to August, the kingdom’s state news agency reported. Russia will also reduce its oil exports by 500,000 bpd in August, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.
