Oil prices steady ahead of U.S. inflation data

May 09, 2023 (MLN): Oil prices stabilized during the Asia trading session on Tuesday ahead of the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) release for April which is due on Wednesday.

This data will set the path going forward with Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions.

Brent crude is currently trading at $76.39 with a minor decline of 0.09%, while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) is at $72.57 per barrel, down by 0.13%.

Both oil benchmark contracts are up around 1.7% on the week and settled up by more than 2% in the previous trading session.

Suvro Sarkar, the lead energy analyst at DBS Bank, stated that the recent rebound in oil prices prompted a momentary pause, given the absence of positive data, as Reuters reported.

Sarkar noted that market sentiment was cautious in anticipation of the inflation data. With a significant decline in net long positions over the past two weeks, many traders had already exited the market, resulting in lower trading volumes.

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