Oil Stable At $54.98 in Weak Trade Ahead of Festivity

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at $54.98 per barrel at 0759 GMT, down up 6 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were down 15 cents at $51.97 per barre

Traders said they were starting to square their books ahead of the upcoming Christmas weekend and the week running up to New Year. As a result, and barring major price-moving news, they said markets would likely remain tepid this week.

“I think we can safely say that pending any dramatic headline we will bounce around the $54-$56 (per barrel) range on Brent until year-end,” said Matt Stanley, fuel broker at Freight Investor Services (FIS) in Dubai.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA brokerage in Singapore, said “a light news week and the run-in to the holiday season” were keeping markets quiet.

Reports late on Monday that Saudi Arabian crude oil exports fell by 176,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October had initially supported markets, but the effect later fizzled out due to an increase in Saudi exports of refined fuel products.

Saudi Arabia’s rising refined product output is part of a wider trend. Asia is seen posting its biggest net refining capacity additions in three years in 2017, further boosting demand for crude in the world’s biggest and fastest growing oil consuming region, Reuters reports.