Oil retreats further from 5-month highs, Doha talks in focus

Oil benchmarks on both sides of Atlantic fell further into losses on Thursday, moving further away from multi-month peaks as bearish inventory report and nervous ahead of Doha OPEC meeting weighs on investors’ minds.

Weekend’s Doha meet in focus

Currently both crude benchmarks are seen extending to the downside, with WTI down -1.53% to $ 41.12 while the Brent oil drops -1.47% to $ 43.53. Oil prices are seen extending further to the downside as markets continue to digest the bearish EIA crude stockpiles report, which showed that US crude stockpiles jumped by 6.634 million barrels in the week to April 8, following the 4.9 million barrels decline recorded a week before. Markets expected a rise of 733,000 barrels.

Moreover, mixed views on whether the OPEC producers will be able to reach a consensus on output freeze/ cut plans at their meeting in Doha this Sunday, also kept the bulls at bay.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe, "We think any agreement actually sets up bearish catalysts for the months ahead.”