Barclays Commodities Research said its analysts still believe oil prices could rise to $60/bbl in the second quarter assuming inventory draws and the OPEC production cut remains in place. “However, this would likely be temporary, and we forecast prices in the mid $50s/bbl in the second half 2017,” Barclays said.

Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $50.72 per barrel at 1255 GMT, up 16 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 20 cents at $47.90 a barrel. Brent was heading for a weekly fall of around 2 percent, while WTI was off just over 1.8 percent.

Saudi Arabia faces a difficult balancing act as it tries to work down excess global crude stocks while protecting relationships with important refining customers in the United States and Asia.

Benchmark Brent crude was down 82 cents at $50.14 per barrel at 0936 GMT (5:36 a.m. ET), after dropping to $50.05, its lowest level since OPEC announced on Nov. 30 its plan for cuts. The deal with non-OPEC states was reached in December. U.S. light crude was down 70 cents at $47.54 a barrel, also slipping toward a three-month low.

The NYMEX April natural gas contract continued to march higher Tuesday, climbing 5.2 cents to settle at $3.093/MMBtu on a tightening supply-demand balance characterized by strong LNG feedgas deliveries, March demand above year-ago levels and a 2.8 Bcf/d year-on-year dip in production.

The crude oil contract for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 56¢ on Mar. 20 to $48.22/bbl. The May contract fell by 40¢ to $48.91/bbl. The Brent crude contract for May on London’s ICE decreased 14¢ to $51.62/bbl. The June contract dropped 16¢ to $51.79/bbl. The gas oil contract settled at 458.50/tonne on Mar. 20, up $1.75. The average price for OPEC’s basket of benchmark crudes on Mar. 20 was $49.18/bbl, down 18¢.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, was up 42 cents at $52.04 per barrel at 0907 GMT, rebounding from last week's three-month low of $50.25 but well below January's surge above $58 in the wake of the output cuts. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 38 cents to $48.60.

Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 февраля по 14 марта 2017 года составила $52,25775 за баррель, или $381,5 за тонну. Согласно расчетам Минфина России экспортная пошлина на нефть в РФ с 1 апреля 2017 года понизится на $2,1 и составит $88,9 за тонну.

West Texas Intermediate for April delivery rose as much as 76 cents to $49.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $49.41 at 10:08 a.m. in London. Total volume traded was in line with the 100-day average. Prices climbed $1.14 to close at $48.86 on Wednesday after falling almost 11 percent the previous seven sessions. Brent for May settlement advanced as much as 84 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $52.65 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices rose 89 cents to $51.81 on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude was at a premium of $2.48 to May WTI.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 was down 7 cents at $48.33 a barrel, as of 0716 GMT. The contract ended down 9 cents in the previous session after touching its lowest since the end of November at $47.90. Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained 3 cents to $51.32 a barrel, having settled down 2 cents on Monday after dipping as low as $50.85.

Compliance of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with an oil output cut exceeded a target, standing at 140% in February.

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.

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.

Министр поблагодарил своего саудовского коллегу за усилия по достижению успеха соглашения между странами ОПЕК и ведущими не-ОПЕКовскими производителями нефти по координации действий на нефтяном рынке. «Хотел бы еще раз поблагодарить в Вашем лице руководство Саудовской Аравии за решающий вклад в продвижение столь важного для мировой нефтяной индустрии и мировой экономики в целом процесса, способствующего восстановлению баланса спроса и предложения на рынке нефти и поддержанию инвестиционной привлекательности отрасли в долгосрочной перспективе», - заявил Александр Новак.