Oil prices hold as supply concerns persist, set for August losses by Investing.com

Investing.com– Oil prices moved little in Asian trade on Friday amid lingering concerns about supply tightening in Libya and Iraq, but continued to hold on to losses for August as traders feared a slowdown in demand .

Crude oil prices rebounded from recent losses this week as an output shutdown in Libya, along with reports of planned output cuts in Iraq, presented a tighter outlook for supplies.

Signs of economic resilience in the US also helped prices, as did persistent bets on interest rate cuts.

But that was offset by fears that global oil demand will cool as the busy summer travel season draws to a close. Weak economic prints from China have largely kept fears of a slowdown in the world’s biggest oil importer at bay.

U.S. crude that expires in October was up 0.2 percent at $80.08 a barrel, while it was up 0.1 percent at $75.98 a barrel by 10:03 p.m. (02:03 GMT ).

Oil prices are still set for August losses

Both contracts were still down between 1.7 percent and 2.5 percent in August, falling to seven-month lows in early August as heightened fears of a global economic slowdown hurt the outlook for demand.

While these fears have mostly eased over the course of the month, concerns about slowing demand have persisted, especially amid few positive signs from top importer China.

Still, improved sentiment toward the U.S., the world’s biggest fuel consumer, helped par oil’s losses. The prospect of a rate cut in September was the biggest driver of this trend, following a string of dovish signals from the Federal Reserve.

data – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – is due later on Friday and is set to provide more clues on the path to US rates.

Positive data released on Thursday also showed that US economic growth remained much stronger than initially expected in the second quarter.

Production cuts in Iraq, shutdown in Libya underpin oil

Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Thursday after Reuters reported that Iraq plans to cut oil production in September as part of a plan with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iraq will cut output to between 3.85 million and 3.9 million barrels per day after producing about 4.25 million bpd in July.

Production disruptions in Libya also persisted, with reports showing more than half of the country’s oil output was halted this week amid a growing dispute over the leadership of the country’s central bank.