Oil futures little changed in Asia, sentiment mixed as India concerns grow

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – Crude oil futures were slightly higher during Asian trading hours Friday, but largely waiting direction with markets torn between optimism from the US and Europe versus spiralling COVID-19 cases in India.

Brent futures for front-month July were trading at $68.13/barrel (0800 GMT), compared to Thursday's settle of $68.09/b, an increase of 0.06% on the day.

At the same time, June WTI was trading $64.88/b, up 0.26% from Thursday's settle of $64.71/b.

Both markets had been heading for second-successive weekly gains, but the softer trend in the second half of the week has dampened the outlook, wiping around 1% from front-month prices on Thursday.

China's crude import data showing a 0.2% fall year-on-year for April was at the lower end of expectations, averaging 9.82 million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, India's new COVID-19 cases are running at around 400,000o, casting doubts on any oil-demand rebound later in the second quarter.