Oil in London fell for the first week in two months as signals of a patchy demand rebounded across the globe and a stronger US dollar held back crude’s rally.
Brent crude for May delivery on Friday fell 0.59 percent to US$69.22 a barrel, down 0.2 percent from a week earlier.
West Texas Intermediate for April delivery declined 0.62 percent to US$65.61 a barrel, posting a 0.73 percent drop for the week — its first weekly decline in three weeks.
Photo: AFP
A fresh bout of bond volatility spurred a risk-off mood across markets, with US equities declining and the US dollar strengthening.
Indian fuel sales dipped last month amid higher pump prices, but demand has been climbing in the US and the UK.
“There was this bullish demand scenario out of Asia, in particular India, but that may be plateauing,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC.
Still, prices “are supported overall, with the OPEC+ disposition to hold back supplies,” he said.
The global Brent benchmark started this week with a push above US$70 after attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, before retreating. The market is facing opposing forces from OPEC+ holding output steady and higher prices potentially encouraging a surge in US shale production.
“Going forward into April and May, we’re going to see pretty significant increases in demand,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. “At this point, however, prices are a little overdone. The market is assuming a little too much in terms of what OPEC+ will do.”
The availability of crude remains tight due to the OPEC+ curbs. Some refiners in Europe and Asia are to receive less crude than they asked for next month from Saudi Arabia as the producer extends its unilateral output cuts. Three processors are to receive almost 20 percent less supply than requested.
Meanwhile, the refining margin for gasoline surged above US$24 a barrel for the first time since June 2018 on a settlement basis, with the exception of April when crude prices plunged below zero. The combination of steep gasoline supply declines following refinery outages from the US deep freeze and signs of demand starting to pick up are adding to a tight fuel supply picture heading into the northern hemisphere’s summer.
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