Oil prices ending week on steady note

Oil prices steadied today, recovering from the previous day's sell-off on official data showing US crude stockpiles at record highs amid a global supply glut.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in March, was flat at USD 51.16 a barrel compared with Thursday's close.
Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose 23 cents to stand at USD 60.44 a barrel in London midday deals.
Traders sold off crude on Wednesday on forecasts of a huge jump in inventories. And they extended the losses yesterday after the Energy Information Administration announced a weekly surge in US commercial crude stockpiles to levels not seen since records began in 1982.

But Tony Nunan, risk manager at Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp., said despite inventories being at their highest level on record, and the increase being above anything analysts had expected, "the gain was a lot smaller than the number announced Wednesday by the (private) American Petroleum Institute in its weekly report.
"Traders are watching when the gap between oil production and (demand) will narrow," he said.
Crude prices lost around 60 per cent of their value to about USD 40 between June and late January owing to an oversupply in world markets, a weak global economy and a strong dollar that made oil expensive to purchase for holders of rival currencies.

And while they have been climbing in recent weeks on news that the number of US oil rigs in operation has fallen and energy giants are cutting back on investment, markets-watchers say volatility is likely to continue for some time.