Crude oil prices rose by about 2%, at the end of trading today, Friday, March 31 (2023), with fears of supply shortages, but they recorded monthly and quarterly losses.
The markets had started Asian trading on the decline with the return of fears of a global recession affecting demand.
Baker Hughes data showed that the number of oil rigs in the United States decreased by one rig, bringing the total to 592 rigs.
Crude oil prices today
At the end of the session, Brent crude futures contracts – for May 2023 delivery – rose 0.6%, recording $ 79.77 a barrel.
Brent crude achieved weekly gains of about 5.5%, but recorded monthly and quarterly losses of 5% and 7.1%, respectively.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures – for May 2023 delivery – also increased by 1.8%, recording $ 75.67 a barrel, according to what was seen by the specialized energy platform.
WTI achieved weekly gains of 9.2%, but recorded monthly and quarterly losses of about 1.8% and 5.7%, respectively.
And crude oil prices ended their dealings, yesterday, Thursday, March 30, with an increase of about 2%, to record the highest level in more than two weeks.
Oil price analysis
Data from the US Department of Commerce showed that personal spending in the United States fell by 0.2% in February 2023, less than analysts’ expectations.
Before the release of the data, CMC Markets analyst Tina Ting said: “The market may maintain its recovery if US personal consumption expenditures today provide positive signals to the markets that US inflation is expected to subside further.”
“The disappointing data may cause concerns about Fed policy again and cap recent gains,” she added.
Chinese demand
Crude oil prices rose this week on optimism surrounding the economic recovery in China; China’s manufacturing activity rose in March at a slower pace than a record expansion in February, but still exceeded economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll.
Industrial activity in China has become a major determinant of crude oil prices in recent weeks after coronavirus-related restrictions were lifted amid weak global demand.
Crude oil prices ended a second consecutive week of gains after the biggest bank failure after the 2008 financial crisis spooked traders and stumped markets.
Fears about a full-fledged global banking crisis eased after two banks were bailed out in the United States and Europe, according to data seen by the specialized energy platform.
oil supplies
Oil prices received support, during yesterday’s trading, Thursday, due to the decline in US oil stocks and the suspension of exports from the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This relieves pressure from a smaller-than-expected supply cut from Russia.
Producers shut down or cut production at several oil fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq after the northern export pipeline stopped; Which indicated more outages on the horizon.
And the US Energy Information Administration said that US crude oil inventories unexpectedly fell, in the week ending March 24, to their lowest level in two years.
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