LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Friday but remained on course for a second weekly fall after countries announced plans to release crude from their strategic stocks.
Brent crude futures were down 1 cent at $100.57 a barrel by 1201 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 31 cents, or 0.3%, to $96.34.
Both contracts are set to fall for a second consecutive week, with Brent on course for a 3.7% slide and WTI for a 2.9% decline.
Member nations of the International Energy Agency (IEA) will release 60 million barrels over the next six months, with the United States matching that amount as part of its 180 million barrel release announced in March.
The release could deter producers, including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and U.S. shale producers, from accelerating output increases even with oil prices around $100 a barrel, ANZ Research analysts said in a note.
PVM analyst Stephen Brennock, meanwhile, questioned the impact of the reserves being released.
“Despite these unprecedented volumes, doubts remain whether this incoming flood of supply will address the shortfall in Russian crude,” he said.
JPMorgan expects the reserves release to “go a long way in the short term” to offsetting the 1 million barrels per day of Russian oil supply it expects to remain permanently offline.
“However, looking forward to 2023 and beyond, global producers will likely need to ramp up investment to both fill the Russia-sized gap in supply and restock IEA strategic reserves,” the bank said in a note.