Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were at $52.70 per barrel at 0513 GMT, down 26 cents from their last close. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 18 cents at $50.17 a barrel.

Natural gas futures for April delivery traded down by about 1% in advance of the EIA's report, at around $3.20 per million BTUs, and traded at $3.19 shortly after the data release. Natural gas closed at $3.23 per million BTUs on Wednesday, the highest closing price in the past week. The 52-week range for natural gas is $2.56 to $3.65. One year ago the price for a million BTUs was around $2.63.

Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, rose 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $51.62 per barrel by 0653 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $48.71 a barrel.

Принятие ОПЕК и ключевыми не входящими в ОПЕК производителями нефти Декларации о сотрудничестве от 10 декабря 2016 г. стало историческим по своему значению шагом, открывающим новую веху в развитии всего глобального нефтяного рынка.

Benchmark Brent crude futures fell by 33 cents, or 0.65 percent, from their last close to $50.47 per barrel by 0653 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 41 cents, or 0.85 percent, at $47.56 a barrel.

Первое, что я хочу сказать: у нас такая возможность предусмотрена самим соглашением. Есть отдельный пункт, в котором говорится, что оно может быть продлено на срок до 6 месяцев. Второе: сегодня ещё конец марта. Мы ещё не перешагнули экватор. Обмен мнениями, который состоялся среди министров, и предложение, которое прозвучало, — означают возможность всем странам изучить этот вопрос до следующей министерской встречи; дать поручения секретариату ОПЕК с тем, чтобы секретариат провёл дополнительный анализ ситуации на рынке, которая будет складываться с января по апрель; дать прогнозы исполнения в мае, в июне и на второе полугодие.

"This reaffirms the commitment of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries to continue to cooperate," the statement said.

The Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) convened in Kuwait City for its second meeting on 26 March 2017. It announced that, based on the Report of the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) for the month of February 2017, OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries have continued their progress towards full conformity with their voluntary adjustments in production.

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.