{"id":9530,"date":"2024-01-20T11:23:22","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T11:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=9530"},"modified":"2024-01-20T11:23:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T11:23:22","slug":"oil-drops-slightly-on-china-demand-concerns-but-records-weekly-gain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/9530\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil drops slightly on China demand concerns but records weekly gain"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0Oil prices settled slightly lower on Friday but recorded a weekly gain as Middle East tensions and disruptions to oil output offset concerns about the Chinese and global economies.<\/p>\n

Brent futures settled 54 cents lower at $78.56 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 67 cents to settle at $73.41.<\/p>\n

For the week, Brent gained about 0.5% while the U.S. benchmark rose over 1%.<\/p>\n

In China, slower-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter raised doubts about forecasts that demand there will drive global oil growth in 2024.<\/div>\n

“The Chinese equity market this week dropped to near a five-year low,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Bank. The indication for weaker demand drove crude prices down on Friday.<\/p>\n

In the Middle East, geopolitical risks supported prices for the week.<\/p>\n

On Friday, tensions escalated in Gaza as Israeli forces pushed south against Hamas militants, while earlier in the week, the U.S. launched new strikes against Houthi anti-ship missiles aimed at the Red Sea.<\/div>\n

Although conflict in the Middle East has not shut any oil production, supply outages continued in Libya.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., about 30% of oil output in North Dakota, the country’s third largest producing state, remained shut due to extreme cold, the state’s pipeline authority said on Friday.<\/p>\n

Output had been cut by some 700,000 bpd, or more than half, midweek.<\/p>\n

It could take a month for production to return to normal levels, the state regulator said on Friday.<\/p>\n

“Supply disruptions remain an upside risk but there are downside risks too, including the global economy,” Craig Erlam, analyst at brokerage OANDA, said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the number of oil rigs operating in the U.S., an early indictor of production, fell by two to 497 this week, Baker Hughes said on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The International Energy Agency this week raisedits 2024 global demand forecast, but its projection is half that of producer group OPEC. The Paris-based agency also said that – barring significant disruptions to flows – the market looked reasonably well supplied in 2024.<\/div>\n

“The forecast for global oil demand growth remains unclear, with stakeholders and research institutions providing widely differing projections,” analyst Bjarne Schieldrop of SEB said.<\/p>\n

The premium of the first-month Brent contract to the six-month contract rose to as much as $2.15 a barrel on Friday, the highest since November. This structure, called backwardation, indicates a perception of tighter supply for prompt delivery.<\/p>\n

Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to Jan. 16, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.<\/p>\n

Updated on