Crude Set To Finish With Another Weekly Loss

Brent crude oil was set to post its fourth weekly loss on Friday, trading at $93.76 at 7:40 GMT. The commodity has been under a lot of pressure recently as a supply glut continues to grow and the global economy remains stagnant. 

Crude prices took a nosedive on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia decided to cut prices for its Asian customers in an effort to gain market share and become a major supplier for fast growing Asian economies. The cut came amid calls from other OPEC suppliers to cut down on production in order to lift Brent prices.

Many of the organization’s members require oil prices to be above $100 in order to balance their budgets, however some OPEC nations believe that winter demand will correct prices without the group having to reduce its output.

The strong US dollar has also helped depress Brent prices recently, but some are betting that the greenback could stumble following the upcoming non farm payrolls report. Some investors see the report showing that the US job market hit a soft patch in September despite a Reuters poll which showed that US employers likely added 215,000 new jobs in September, compared to 142,000 in August.

Investors will also be keeping a close eye on the developing conflict in the Middle East where US-led airstrikes are doing little to stop Islamic Militants from continuing their push across Syria. On Thursday, Turkey’s government authorized military action against ISIS as the extremist group moved closer to the nation’s border. Reports that Kurdish border towns have been overrun with Islamic State militants has many worried that Turkey could be the group’s next target.