Oil Stable as supply cuts offest concerns

Oil prices stabilized, to remain in the ranges recorded over the past three weeks, at a time when investors looked for indications of a change in the fundamental factors of supply and demand.

A Saudi cut in oil supplies and a decline in crude stocks in the United States contributes to dispelling the impact of price pressures resulting from fuel demand, which is slowing due to the failure to distribute anti-Coronavirus vaccines and new, more highly contagious strain.

Brent crude futures for March delivery rose four cents, or 0.1%, to $ 55.57 a barrel before the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed, after falling 0.5% in the previous session.

The March Brent contract expires on Friday. The most active April contract rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $ 55.23.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell seven cents to $ 52.27 a barrel, after falling 1% on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia is set to cut production by 1 million barrels per day in February and March, and compliance with production restrictions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as the OPEC + group, improved in January.

Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday that it expects to announce data for its COVID-19 vaccine early next week.

The market is also receiving support from a 9.9 million barrel drop in US crude inventories and expectations of a limited decline in US oil production in February.

But market gains are being curbed by concerns about disrupted vaccine distribution and the spread of new strains that are more contagious than the virus.