Today is an official holiday
Oil prices closed little changed on Thursday, but recorded gains for the third week in a row, as markets oscillated between further production cuts targeted by OPEC + and falling US oil stocks on the one hand, and concerns about the global economic outlook on the other.
Brent crude closed up 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $85.12 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude closed up nine cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $80.70. Today is a holiday on Good Friday.
The two benchmarks jumped more than 6% this week after OPEC +, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, surprised the market on Sunday with pledges to cut production.
Hedge funds have been buying crude all week, returning to a “risk on” mode, said Dennis Kessler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
Prices were supported by a sharper-than-expected decline in US crude inventories last week, the second consecutive week in which they have declined. Gasoline and distillate inventories also declined, indicating higher demand.
However, the gains were curtailed by US labor market data, which indicated a slowdown in economic growth, as well as slower-than-expected growth in the services sector in the United States.
