Oil Prices Decline On Concerns Of U.S. Oversupply

(MENAFN- Yolo Wire) U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to let American energy companies “drill, baby, drill” has raised concerns about market oversupply and led to a decline in both crude prices and %Oil stocks.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is currently trading at $79.34 U.S. per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. standard, is changing hands at $75.95 U.S. a barrel.

Both crude oil prices were above $80 U.S. a barrel prior to Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Since returning to the White House, trump has declared a U.S. energy emergency, called for higher oil output, and said that the U.S. will likely stop buying oil from Venezuela.

Trump has also quickly rolled back environmental protections and withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord.

Consequently, oil stocks are in retreat as crude prices fall and analysts raise concerns about over drilling and over supply in the U.S. market.

Leading U.S. oil companies %ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: $XOM) and %OccidentalPetroleum (NYSE: $OXY) have each seen their share prices decline 3% in recent days.

Analysts say Trump’s goal of making the U.S. the world’s largest energy producer could swamp the global market with crude oil, depressing prices.

At the same time, crude oil prices have retreated on news that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement, ratcheting down tensions across the Middle East.

Oil prices have also been pressured by a strengthening U.S. dollar, which makes American energy exports less competitive and attractive to foreign nations.

Still, energy analysts at U.S. investment bank %MorganStanley (NYSE: $MS) say in a contrarian note that Trump’s aggressive policies are unlikely to spur near-term energy investment or change U.S. production growth among private sector companies that have an interest in supporting prices.

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