Oil on track for second weekly profit, dollar muscles up

Oil futures were mostly flat in American trade, as the dollar index rebounded from March 27 lows for the fourth straight session, amid a lack of data from the US, the world's largest energy consumer, and after President Donald Trump criticized OPEC as they convene with Russia in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

As of 04:42 GMT, US crude futures inched up to $68.30 a barrel from the opening of $68.29, while Brent futures due on June 15 inched down 0.07% to $73.73 a barrel from the opening of $73.78, as the dollar index rose 0.40% to 90.30 from the opening of 89.94, marking April 6 highs. 

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams spoke earlier today at a fireside chat hosted by the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, in California, where he pointed to improved labor conditions and growth in wages, while inflation steadies as the Fed continues to tighten monetary policy and hike interest rates gradually. 

Williams, who will take the position of current New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley after his term ends on June 17, expected Fed's budget to reach normal levels near $3 trillion soon. 

More pertinently, President Donald Trump blasted OPEC for keeping oil prices artificially high despite record crude supplies around the globe, weighing on oil prices before erasing the losses. 

OPEC President and UAE energy minsiter Suhail Al Mazroui said the pace of US shale production is accelerating past forecasts, which could hurt efforts to normalize the market. 

Al Mazroui said collaboration between OPEC and other producers to cut supplies by 1.8 million bpd won't conclude until balance is restored to the market, while expressing hopes to reach a long-term deal to extend support for prices. 

The ministerial committee supervising OPEC's deal with other producers reported that oil inventories in major industrial countries are still high at 2.83 billion barrels, but oversupplies have been wiped.  

The committee will meet in Vienna on June 21 as it carries on its mission of studying the market and looking into factors that move indicators around. 

Saudi oil minister Khalid Al Falih said that compliance with the deal to cut global output has reached 145% in March, while lamenting the still low investment levels in the oil sector. 

Russian oil minister Alexander Novak responded with Saudi and UAE counterparts to Trump's accusations by asserting there's no such thing as "artificial prices", adding that political geography is what controls prices.