Oil

Saudi Arabia and Iran are at it again, this time in Vienna -- a star-crossed city for OPEC.

Oil futures slipped in Asian trade on Friday after hitting resistance at the $50 a barrel mark as investors worried higher prices could reactivate shuttered crude output, adding to global oversupply.

Donald Trump promised on Thursday to roll back some of America's most ambitious environmental policies.

Oil prices tested the $50-per-barrel mark on Thursday as production outages brought a faster-than-expected recovery to an oversupplied market many thought will stay depressed through the year.

Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported a larger-than-expected drop in crude inventories, but profit-taking after the data kept prices below the $50 a barrel level that oil bulls had been hoping for.

Wall Street was higher in afternoon trading on Wednesday, extending gains from Tuesday as oil prices rose and investors became more comfortable with the prospect of an interest rate hike as early as next month.

Record consumer demand for gasoline is expected to take a sizeable bite out of an oil glut that has held global crude prices at multi-year lows.

Royal Dutch Shell will cut a further 2,200 jobs, taking its target for layoffs to 12,500 by the end of the year, the Anglo-Dutch oil firm said on Wednesday, as it cuts deeper in the face of weak oil prices.

Brent oil prices fell for a fourth consecutive session on Monday after Iran insisted it would not freeze crude output, returning investor attention to a global glut.

The average price of gasoline has jumped by a nickel over the past two weeks to $2.32 a gallon for regular grade.

U.S. stocks were higher in early afternoon trading on Friday, with the S&P and Dow on track to eke out their first weekly gains in five weeks as technology and financial stocks rose.

Oil prices slipped on Friday as investors cashed in on recent gains and focus shifted again to swelling global inventories that have cushioned impact from a series on unplanned supply outages.

Wall Street opened lower on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled the possibility of an interest rate hike as early as June and oil prices dropped on fresh concerns of oversupply.

Oil fell below $48 a barrel on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar and as a surprise increase in U.S. inventories served as a reminder that supply remains ample despite unplanned outages.

U.S. stocks extended their gains on Wednesday, carving out new intraday highs as a rally in banks shares ahead of the Federal Reserve minutes outweighed an unexpected rise in oil inventories.

A global gauge of stocks fell on Tuesday, weighed down by Wall Street on concerns that strong U.S. inflation data could bring closer an expected rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Oil experts have been closely monitoring the energy sector after the world’s biggest crude exporters failed last month to reach an agreement on an oil-production freeze.