Oil rises in anticipation of summer gasoline demand.

By 04:27 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil futures were up 0.3%, or 26 cents, at $75.79 a barrel, while Brent crude futures had risen 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $79.90 a barrel.
Data released on Friday revealed that the United States created more jobs last month than anticipated, which caused investors to lower their expectations for rate reductions and contributed to the dollar’s rise.

For holders of foreign currencies, commodities denominated in dollars, like oil, become more expensive due to a stronger dollar.

Additionally, the pressure on the euro was a reflection of the unpredictability in the eurozone following the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron of early legislative elections for later in June, following his defeat by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party in the European Union vote.

Following the positive surprise in the U.S. non-farm payrolls, which caused yields to skyrocket, Macron and the elections certainly add another element of uncertainty, according to Tony Sycamore, an IG analyst based in Sydney.

The meetings this week between the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve are now the focus of the markets, with the possibility of more hawkish results, according to Sycamore.

“Considering the unfavorable reaction this proposal received last week following the OPEC+ meeting, that will probably cause more angst among some of the OPEC+ member states regarding when they can return their cuts back to the market.”

Due to worries that OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and their allies may add to the rise in global supply, Brent and WTI registered their third consecutive weekly loss last week.

Energy consultant FGE noted in a note that the news was made at the same time as total commercial OECD oil and product stockpiles on land increased to an estimated 48 million barrels in May, up from an average build of 30 million barrels between 2015 and 2019.

Summer holiday demand is predicted by analysts and dealers to lower inventories and support prices.

As we move into 3Q 2024, FGE stated, “We continue to expect the market to firm up and crude prices to reach mid-$80/bbl levels, but it will likely need a convincing signal of tightening from preliminary inventory data.”

According to Goldman Sachs experts, Brent will increase to $86 a barrel in the upcoming third quarter.

“We anticipate a substantial Q3 deficit of 1.3mb/d in the market due to healthy consumers and strong summertime demand for cooling and transportation.”

Following a decline in prices, Washington increased its purchases of crude oil to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Energy services provider Baker Hughes (BKR.O), opens new tab, said on Friday that the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating in the United States dropped to its lowest level since January 2022 last week.

Iraq’s Oil Minister, Hayan Abdel-Ghani, reported that negotiations to restore oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, which previously supplied roughly 0.5% of the world’s oil supply, have made headway with officials from the Kurdistan region and representatives of foreign businesses doing business there.