Oil Ends Week with a Slump
(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell, paring an eighth weekly advance, even as supplies stopped flowing through a major Russian pipeline to Europe.
Futures in New York lost as much as 1.4 percent, while Brent also fell. Futures in London had spiked briefly above $75 a barrel on Thursday as Russian flows were halted after customers complained of impurities. Prices have since failed to extend gains as investors wait to see how long the outage will last.
Oil has climbed more than 40 percent this year amid output cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies and disruptions from Venezuela to Libya. It’s also had a boost from the recent U.S. decision to end waivers on Iranian sanctions. It remains unclear to what extent Saudi Arabia and other nations will pump more to make up for lost barrels. The kingdom said this week it sees no need to take immediate action.
“The current market fundamentals are undoubtedly supportive but we have traveled a long way on the back of speculation about what happens next,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank A/S. “At this stage it might be the time to pause and wait and see what actually happens.”
West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell as much as 94 cents, and was down 77 cents at $64.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 10:22 a.m. London time. The contract closed down 1 percent on Thursday but is up more than 40 cents this week. The last time WTI rallied for more than eight consecutive weeks was in May 2015.
Brent for June settlement was down 91 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $73.44 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract rose as high as $75.60 on Thursday before closing down 0.3 percent. The global benchmark crude was at a premium of $9.06 to WTI on Friday.
Brent’s spike on Thursday followed a move by Poland, which receives oil through a section of the giant Druzhba pipeline, to stop Russian imports, saying shipments had become contaminated by organic chlorides. Amid the disruption, oil traders are scrambling to find replacement cargoes for buyers across Europe.
--With assistance from James Thornhill.To contact the reporters on this story: Sharon Cho in Singapore at ccho28@bloomberg.net ;Alex Longley in London at alongley@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pratish Narayanan at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net Amanda Jordan, James Herron
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- CNPC Opens Sea-Land Oil Storage and Transport Facility in Bangladesh
- Oman Sees Increasing Ship-to-Ship Transfers of Russian Oil Bound for India
- US Govt Makes Record Investment of $6B for Industrial Decarbonization
- Perenco Still Searching for Missing Person After Platform Incident
- Eni, Fincantieri, RINA Ink Deal on Maritime Decarbonization
- Oil Falls as US Inventories Increase
- Czech Utility CEZ Bucks Weaker Prices, Demand to Log Record Annual Profit
- Ithaca Energy Studies Deal for Eni's UK Upstream Assets
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call
- India Halts Russia Oil Supplies From Sanctioned Tanker Giant
- DOI Announces Proposal for Second GOM Offshore Wind Auction
- Centcom, Dryad Outline Recent Moves Around Red Sea Region
- PetroChina Set to Receive Venezuelan Oil
- Czech Conglomerate to Buy Major Stake in Gasnet for $917MM
- US DOE Offers $44MM in Funding to Boost Clean Power Distribution
- Oil Settles Lower as Stronger Dollar Offsets Tighter Market
- UK Grid Operator Receives Aid to Advance Rural Decarbonization
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call