(New York) Oil ended higher on Friday after a faltering session and ahead of a long weekend, with investors taking position as US markets close on Monday to observe the Juneteenth holiday (June 19, Emancipation Day). .

A barrel of Brent North Sea crude for August delivery, which started the day down, rose 1.24% to $76.61.

Its American equivalent, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in July, also in the red in the first part of the session, advanced 1.64% to 71.78 dollars.

“Barrel prices tested lower and then rebounded as investors adjusted positions ahead of a long weekend,” Kpler’s Matt Smith pointed out.

“Hard to say why we bounced back, but July is coming and the Saudis are going to do what they promised,” which is to cut production by 1 million barrels a day next month, he added. ‘analyst.

Less black gold on the market drives prices up.

Additionally, China’s central bank lowered its short-term policy rate, a move to support activity in the world’s second-largest economy amid a faltering post-COVID-19 recovery.

We can think “that the demand for crude from China will be greater in the second half than in the first”, estimated Matt Smith. This improvement in Chinese demand also has the potential to strengthen oil prices.

On the natural gas side, the Dutch TTF futures contract, considered the European benchmark, fell considerably by 20.34% to 32.77 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

The TTF was catching its breath after its surge the day before, approaching 50 euros per MWh, a higher price since the beginning of April.

Prices had taken off after the financial press reported that the Dutch government was set to close “the Groningen field on October 1 due to environmental concerns,” said SPI AM analyst Stephen Innes.

In addition, there are also interruptions in Norwegian gas production, due to leaks and maintenance at many facilities.