Oil prices ticked up in Asian trading on Friday, with investors exercising caution ahead of key U.S. employment data as they weighed a big withdrawal from U.S. crude inventories and a delay to production hikes by OPEC+ producers.
Brent crude futures rose 13 cents to $72.82 by 0507 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 12 cents, or 0.17%, to $69.27.
“It seems that broader caution prevails, as market participants are still trying to wrap their heads around the mixed U.S. economic data coming through this week, while the lead-up to the crucial jobs report may limit some risk-taking,” said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG.
For the week, Brent was on track to drop nearly 8%, while WTI was headed for a decline of almost 6%. There have been mixed signals on the U.S. economy this week, ahead of nonfarm payrolls data on Friday that is expected to be key to the size of a U.S. interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 17-18 meeting.
