Oil futures settled modestly lower on Wednesday, with U.S. prices posting a loss for the first time in five sessions.
Oil markets have priced in the initial shock of the announced OPEC+ production cuts, but prices could continue higher “if demand surprises to the high side as we move into the summer. However, this is a massive if,” said Troy Vincent, senior market analyst at DTN. “Gasoline demand has recovered alongside consumer spending in the services sector in recent months but today’s disappointing U.S. ISM services PMI data suggest that the U.S. consumer may be approaching their spending limits.” May West Texas Intermediate crude CLK23, 0.09% fell 10 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $80.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.