Oil steadies as investors take stock of banking crisis

Oil steadies as investors take stock of banking crisis

Brent crude futures edged up 2 cents to $74.72 a barrel by 0133 GMT, having snapped three days of losses to settle 1.4% higher on Thursday.











Reuters









March 17, 2023 / 08:24 AM IST





Oil prices were little changed on Friday after a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia calmed markets, but crude benchmarks were still headed for a second weekly fall after a banking crisis sparked a sell-off in global financial markets this week.

Brent crude futures edged up 2 cents to $74.72 a barrel by 0133 GMT, having snapped three days of losses to settle 1.4% higher on Thursday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.33 a barrel, down 2 cents after closing 1.1% higher in the previous session.

Both contracts hit their lowest in more than a year this week and are set to post their biggest weekly falls since December at about 10%. Oil and other global assets were undercut this week as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank sent the U.S. and Swiss governments scrambling to shore up liquidity at banks.

Contagion risks among banks are still keeping investors on edge, curbing