Oil prices settled lower on Thursday

International benchmarks for oil prices settled lower on Thursday (26 May) after a brief increased to above $50/barrel during the intraday trade, as investors considered whether higher prices could unlock more output in an already oversupplied market. WSJ reported oil prices to have rose 89% from a 13-year low hit in February, thanks primarily from disruptions to production and pipelines, primarily in Canada and Africa, that cut supply by about 3.4 million barrels a day in May. However, analysts believed that market is bound for a correction soon. OPEC will meet next week but few expect the meeting to result in any effort to cut or cap production to help prices.

WTI closed at $49.48/barrel (-$0.08) June delivery

Brent closed at $49.59/barrel (-$0.15) July delivery