TOKYO, June 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose around 1% on
Friday to move further away from five-month lows hit earlier in
the week, buoyed by a report that Washington could postpone
trade tariffs on Mexico and signs OPEC and other producers may
extend crude supply cuts.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 50 cents, or 0.8%, at
$62.17 a barrel by 0041, having risen earlier to $62.41. They
gained 1.7% on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 50
cents, or 1%, at $53.09 per barrel, after trading as high as
$53.33. They finished the previous session 1.8% higher.
On Wednesday, Brent and WTI sank to their lowest levels
since mid-January at $59.45 and $50.60 respectively, after U.S.
crude production hit a new record-high and stockpiles climbed to
their highest since July 2017.
By then, both contracts were in bear-market territory,
having lost more than 20% from peaks reached in late April.
But on Thursday oil prices followed U.S. stocks higher after
Bloomberg News reported the United States is considering a delay
in the tariffs on Mexico as talks continue. "After prices hit the depth of the sewer this week, and
(are) arguably in oversold territory, traders were always going
to be predisposed to book profits ahead of the weekend," Stephen
Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets said in a morning
note.
Nevertheless, sentiment on prices remains dim as fresh signs
emerge of a stalling global economy and ongoing concerns about
growing U.S. crude supply.
Prices had been supported by supply curbs by the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
some allies including Russia. Supply has also been limited by
U.S. sanctions on oil exports from Iran and Venezuela.
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had
differences with OPEC over what constituted a fair price for
oil, but that Moscow would take a joint decision on output at a
policy meeting in coming weeks.