Oil Jumps 4% After Week-Long Selloff, but Falls for a Fourth Week
Date
11/18/2023 7:52:12 AM
(MENAFN- The Al-Attiyah Foundation) Oil prices jumped more than 4% on Friday, rebounding from a four-month low hit in the previous session, as investors who had taken short positions took profits and while U.S. sanctions on some Russian oil shippers lent support. brent crude futures settled up $3.19, or about 4.1%, at $80.61 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose $2.99, or 4.1%, at $75.89. Some of the losses were offset after the U.S. imposed sanctions this week on maritime companies and vessels for shipping Russian oil sold above the Group of Seven's price cap. Still, both benchmarks ended the week more than 1% lower, their fourth straight weekly decline, mostly weighed down by a rise in U.S. crude inventories and sustained record high production. China's deepening property crisis and slowing industrial growth also weighed. U.S. oil producers have been cutting the number of active drilling rigs for nearly a year due to weaker prices. The oil rig count, however, this week rose by six, the most since February, energy services firm Baker Hughes said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to consider whether to make additional oil supply cuts when they meet later this month.
Asia Spot LNG Prices Steady Amid High Stocks, Muted Demand
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices were little changed this week, amid high inventory levels in east Asia which kept demand from the region muted. The average LNG price was at $16.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), industry sources estimated, versus $16.50 per mmBtu last week. Demand from end-users in northeast Asia has remained largely weak, with market participants flagging continued high terminal inventories in South Korea and Japan in particular, analysts said. Recent cold weather and forecasts for Tokyo in the coming weeks did little to spur significant spot market activity by Japanese buyers, analysts added, while Seoul is set for above-average temperatures through to the year-end, suggesting little scope for a substantial power and heating demand rebound. European gas and LNG markets remained well-supplied with gas storage levels still hovering above 99% even with net withdrawals seen across several countries. In the U.S., natural gas futures fell about 3% to a three-week low on Friday on record output that should enable utilities to keep injecting gas into storage through late November. For the week, the price was down about 2% after falling about 14% last week.
By: The Al-Attiyah Foundation.
MENAFN18112023006131013331ID1107449973
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.