Oil prices moving lower on market sentiment

Crude oil prices searched for momentum in early Thursday trading amid uncertainty about the prospects for major energy market recovery.

Goldman Sachs in a research note Thursday said there were tit-for-tat forces ranging from a slowdown in North American oil to higher production in Iran that made for an uncertain market situation moving forward. That's somewhat more optimistic than a forecast this week from Morgan Stanley, which said it was maintaining a "bearish" position on crude oil.

Crude oil prices were flat to modestly lower to start the trading day in New York. The price for Brent crude oil was down about 0.5 percent to open at $43.26 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark price for crude oil, was down just 0.1 percent to $41.88 per barrel.

The price for Brent, the global benchmark, is down about 1.1 percent for the week in a sign that supply may be rebuilding in a market after May wildfires in Canada tightened conditions in North America.

ConocoPhillips reported second quarter production was lower because of outages in Canada, but raised its production guidance for the year.

In statements Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee said it was keeping interest rates unchanged, noting competing factors in the U.S. economy. Labor markets and household spending improved, but business investment was weak. Inflation, meanwhile, was still below the target rate of 2 percent in part because of declines in energy prices.

Echoing sentiments expressed from its peers, oilfield services company Weatherford International said its customers were growing more confident as the market shows some level of moderate stability. In a statement, Bernard Duroc-Danner, the company's top executive, said the market may "have hit a bottom."