US crude trims gains, but remains above $72
Oil prices rose on Friday, as investors parse the Emirati-Saudi agreement about the OPEC-Plus production policy, while the US dollar rose against its counterparts.
Reuters quoted informed sources that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were able to resolve their dispute over OPEC+ production policy, and set a higher baseline output level for the UAE at 3.65 million bpd after the end of the current cut agreement in April 2022.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by less than 0.1% to 92.6 points as of 17:30 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.7 points and a low of 92.5 points.
WTI crude August futures rose 0.6% to $72.1 a barrel, after hitting a high of $72.3 and a low of $70.4.
Brent September futures rose 0.5% to $73.8 a barrel, after hitting a high of $74.09 and a low of $72.3.
Dollar pares early gains and holds
The US dollar held steadily against most of its major counterparts Friday, following the US consumer confidence data.
The greenback was lifted thanks to expectations that the US inflation rate would continue to rise in the coming months, before slowing down.
Data showed that the US retail sales index rose 0.6% in June, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.4%.
The core retail sales index (excluding fuel and food prices) rose 1.3% in June, beating forecasts of 0.4%.
University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey fell to 80.8 points in June from 85.5 points, while analysts forecast 86.5.
The markets are closely focused on the quarterly earnings results season, after several major banks announced their results this week, and the US tech companies will announce their results the next few days.
The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by less than 0.1% to 92.6 points as of 17:50 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.7 points and a low of 92.5 points.
US retail sales exceed forecasts in June
At 12:30 GMT, the US economy released its reading for the retail sales index , which rose 0.6% in June, beating forecasts of drop by 0.4%, and higher than the previous reading of a drop by 1.7% after it was revised from 1.3%.
The core reading (excluding car sales) rose 1.3%, beating forecasts of 0.4%, while the previous reading was at -0.9%. This data is positive for the US economy.