2017.04.2801:20:00UTC+00Crude Prices Advance on Potential OPEC Deal Extension

Oil prices edged up on Friday but were still bound for a second consecutive weekly loss on persisting concerns that an OPEC-initiated production cut has failed to significantly re balance the oversupplied crude market.

U.S. WTI crude futures traded up 37 cents at $49.34 per barrel, up 0.76 percent from their last settlement. Despite the latest gain, the U.S. benchmark is still poised for a small weekly decline and is around 8 percent down from the high it scaled in April.

Brent crude futures traded up by 33 cents or 0.64 percent from their last close at $51.77 per barrel. The international benchmark is now nearly more than 8.5 percent down from its April peak and is also bound for a second week of losses.

Traders said the increase were due to comments from OPEC members that it was eyeing a deal that would ensure the removal of builds in global oil inventories. Such an agreement would likely denote the extension of a pact by OPEC and other exporters to reduce production during the first half of 2017.

In order to achieve its desired effect on the market, ANZ said it anticipated OPEC to prolong its cuts beyond the first half of the year, but it added that there are risks that non-OPEC exporters may hesitate at the proposal.