After the release of a report showing that the United States' economic growth is slowing at a sharp rate, crude futures dropped in Asian trading on Friday before holding steady at around $49. The event seems to herald the first weekly gain in three weeks, despite ongoing concerns about diminishing market demand for oil, according to Reuters.
The possible gain is viewed as a temporary boost to a market that seems intent to relinquish its full reliance on oil, as shown by sluggish economic growth and demand in several key markets, including two of the world's biggest economic powers, the United States and China.
Traders and analysts, however, believe that prices are likely to be rangebound in the coming weeks, reports Fox Business News.
"Looking at the bigger picture, there is still lots of oil in the United States. We should see a softer market in the coming days," said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates.
The dark horse in the crude oil industry might be China, which is set to release its Purchasing Manager Indexes (PMIs) next week, especially since the country's Ministry of Commerce announced that it will be doubling its import quota for crude oil in the following year.
However, even if China does import more oil, the continuous slide in oil prices, which dropped 50 percent since last year, continues to push the oil industry into the red line.
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