Oil Set for Biggest Weekly Gain in Two Years as Rebound Persists - Bloomberg

Oil Set for Biggest Weekly Gain in Two Years as Rebound Persists - Bloomberg:

Oil headed for its biggest weekly gain in over two years on hopes that OPEC will manage to shrink a glut and trade tensions between the U.S. and China will ease.

Futures in New York have advanced 10 percent this week, as Saudi Arabia pledged that a producer coalition it’s leading will keep the market in balance. Still, prices are about 30 percent lower than their highs in October even after a rebound since Christmas Eve thrust crude back into a bull market. That signals investors need reassurance that the group will curb supply sufficiently and demand will hold up.

Crude’s direction in coming weeks may be determined by whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia implement output cuts they have promised for the first six months of 2019. Also crucial will be the outcome of trade negotiations between the U.S. and China -- the world’s two biggest economies. A deal between the nations could boost flagging global growth that underpins oil demand.