Brent crude oil was up 15 cents at $52.34 a barrel by 0900 GMT, after falling 1.7 percent on Thursday and 5 percent the day before in its biggest percentage decline in a year. U.S. crude oil was up 15 cents at $49.43 a barrel. It fell below $50 on Thursday for the first since December. U.S. crude is on track for a drop of more than 7 percent this week, its biggest weekly fall for five months.

EIA forecasts Brent crude oil prices to average $55/b in 2017 and $57/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are expected to average about $1/b less than Brent prices in the forecast. NYMEX contract values for May 2017 delivery traded during the five-day period ending March 2 suggest that a range of $46/b to $63/b encompasses the market expectation for WTI prices in May 2017 at the 95% confidence level.

US Census Bureau data showed US crude exports rising by 304,000 b/d to 746,000 b/d in January, which was followed by a report by the US Energy Information Administration showing US crude exports averaging 900,000 b/d in the four weeks ending February 24.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $48.5 billion in January, up $4.2 billion from $44.3 billion in December, revised. January exports were $192.1 billion, $1.1 billion more than December exports. January imports were $240.6 billion, $5.3 billion more than December imports.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 3 cents at $55.98 a barrel as of 1020 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was flat at $53.20. Both benchmarks have traded in negative and positive territory since the start of Asia trading.

Brent crude futures dropped 47 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $55.43 a barrel as of 0749 GMT after settling 1.5 percent higher in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 47 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $52.86 a barrel after closing the previous session up 1.4 percent.

Александр Новак прогнозирует стоимость эталонной корзины Brent в 2017 году на уровне $55-60 за баррель, тогда как Urals будет торговаться с дисконтом в $2-3 за баррель к североморскому эталону.

Oil closed at the lowest level in more than three weeks as record U.S. crude inventories were seen jeopardizing OPEC’s efforts to drain a global surplus.

Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 was up 19 cents at $55.27 a barrel at 0941 GMT, recovering some of Thursday's losses that amounted to more than 2 percent. WTI futures CLc1 traded at $52.69 a barrel, up 8 cents on the previous close.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 50 cents a barrel at $55.86 by 1125 GMT. U.S. light crude was 50 cents lower at $53.33.