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Oil prices posted their biggest weekly drop in three months as markets already worried about weak demand and grappled with growing speculation that OPEC’s June meeting could expose cracks in the alliance, with the United Arab Emirates saying it has boosted production capacity.
Robert Yawger of Mizuho Bank told Dow Jones that when the UAE “adds an additional 200,000 barrels of oil, their bottom line improves.” “It’s no coincidence that they released this number a month before the meeting.”
Most sources said OPEC+ may extend voluntary oil production cuts beyond June if demand does not increase.
Oil futures have fallen this week after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 7.3 million barrel increase in crude oil inventories, the largest weekly increase since February, and the Federal Reserve reiterated its reluctance to cut interest rates soon.
Front-month New York Commercial crude oil for June delivery (CL1:COM) fell 1% on Friday to close -6.8% This week to $78.11/barrel, front-month July Brent crude oil (CO1:COM) fell 0.8% on Friday, closing this week -5.9% to $82.96/barrel; for both benchmarks, it was the largest weekly percentage drop since the week ending February 2.
But front month June Nymex Natural Gas (NG1:COM) rose 5.2% on Friday, +11.4% This week it reached $2.142/MMBtu, its first weekly gain in four weeks, supported by lower production and rising demand from the power sector as temperatures rise in parts of the United States.
ETF: (New York Stock Exchange: Use), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (NRGU), (USOI), (UNG), (BOIL), (COLD), (UNL), (FCG)
City Index and Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said there were “concerns about U.S. demand, with commercial crude oil inventories rising more than expected” and a significant slowdown in the rate at which refineries process crude oil into crude products. market observation.
Data showing the number of active U.S. oil rigs fell significantly for a second straight week provided little support for oil prices on Friday, even as the decline meant production could slow down in the future.
The energy sector was the worst performing sector this week, as shown by the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE). -3.3%.
Top 10 Gainers in Energy & Natural Resources Over the Past 5 Days: Enovix (ENVX) +56.2%TPI Composite Materials (TPIC) +34.5%Flash Charge(BLNK) +25.6%Flux Energy (FLNC) +24%Brookfield Renewable Energy (BEPC) +21.7%Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners (BEP) +20.8%Altus Power Supply (AMPS) +20.1%Nordic Petroleum Royalties Trust (NRT) +19.9%Dynagas LNG Partner (DLNG) +17.9%Midstream Partner Summit (SMLP) +17.3%.
Top 5 Energy & Natural Resources Losers Over the Past 5 Days: Critical Metals (CRML) -16.8%Profrac Holdings (ACDC) -15.4%CVR Energy (CVI) -11.2%Obsidian Energy (OBE) -11.1%Scully Royals (SRL) -11.1%.
Source: Barchart.com
