Oil price is steady and heading for modest weekly rise

Oil prices were largely steady yesterday and looked set to finish the week with modest gains after losing almost 10% last week on concerns that an Opec production cut was failing to reduce a global supply overhang.

Crude traded in a narrow band this week, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate bouncing in a $2.50 range as investors weighed the impact of the first oil cut from Opec in eight years against rising US shale oil output and high inventories.

However, oil has not been able to reclaim the range that prevailed through most of 2017 before last week’s rout.