Oil prices are likely to close this trading week in the positive territory. WTI Crude Oil rose by $50.60 a barrel and now it started a slight correction. Analysts believe that the WTI Crude Oil will finish the trading week near $50.40. Today, Baker Hughes is expected to publish data on drilling activity in the US. The last week report indicated a reduction in the number of oil and gas rigs in the country. Analysts see it as a signal for a possible reduction in oil production. Meanwhile, Brent Crude Oil is trading near the April high at $56.39 per barrel. Today, market participants are waiting for the meeting of the OPEC Technical Committee in Vienna, where oil producers will discuss Nigeria and Libya joining the OPEC deal to cut global oil production. Anyway, experts note that new countries will contribute to better implementation of the OPEC deal. In addition, commodity currencies also resumed an upward trend. The USD/RUB pair is under the bearish pressure and trading today at 57.56. The US dollar is weakening against the ruble amid growth in oil prices as well as the start of the tax period in Russia, which will begin next week.
The additional demand for Russian assets is also caused by successful organization of the federal loan bonds auction by the Ministry of Finance. The Russian loan bonds provide investors with 7 to 10% of annual income. During the next trading week, the Russian national currency is likely to reach fresh highs, against the US dollar. Experts are sure that oil will also continue to grow next week.