"US crude oil inventories have started to seasonally decline, but I think funds are probably going to wait and see where we stand at the end of the summer before going long again," BNP Paribas head of commodity strategy Harry Tchilinguirian said. "Front-month crude oil prices are currently trending higher, buoyed by robust seasonal product demand, and tentative evidence that OECD stocks may be drawing closer to their five-year average. On the back of this trend ... longer-dated options continue to meet sustained producer hedging," Societe Generale said in a note. Goldman Sachs equity analysts, who expect the global oil market to show a surplus next year when new projects come on stream, said recent stock draws were a good start. "But we believe additional datapoints - particularly from OECD inventories - are needed, and we are not out of the woods yet."

Source: Economic Times August 04, 2017 13:18 UTC