Oil records the largest decline – Al-Raya newspaper

Doha – Al Raya:

The report of the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development said that oil prices closed lower yesterday, Friday, in light of fears that the high number of “Covid-19” infections around the world would cause a decline in fuel demand, as the price of crude oil declined. Brent 8% over the course of the week, to settle at $65.18 a barrel, its lowest since April, while West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $62.32 a barrel, down more than 9% for the week.

The report added that the oil price fell for seven consecutive days after tightening closures in many countries around the world to limit the high rates of infection with the “delta” mutator, while market participants expect more supply in the coming months, contrary to what was previously thought, while imposed China, the world’s largest importer of crude, further tightened restrictions, affecting global shipping and supply chains, while the United States imposed restrictions on air traffic.

On the other hand, the dollar exchange rate reached its highest level in nine months, amid indications that the Federal Reserve is looking to reduce stimulus measures this year. It should be noted that oil prices move against the price of the US dollar, so the cost of oil to owners of other currencies increases when the dollar rises.

The report indicated that while the demand for oil is declining due to the “delta” axis, the supply is steadily increasing, as American oil companies added more rigs for the third week in a row. Baker Hughes said the number of US oil rigs rose by 8 to a total of 405 rigs this week, the highest level since April of 2020. Asian spot LNG prices fell last week as European gas and oil prices fell, making Reducing competition for short-term gas supplies between the two continents. Industry sources said that the average price of liquefied natural gas to be delivered in October to Northeast Asia was estimated at $15.50 per million British thermal units, a decrease of $1.55 from the previous week, while spot prices for shipments to be delivered in September were estimated at about $1.55 per million British thermal units. $15.20 per million British thermal units. The majority of Asian LNG contracts are priced in line with the price of Brent crude, which reached its lowest level since May due to fears that a rise in infections could dampen global demand. Prices of gas futures contracts in Europe also fell after the Russian company, Gazprom, raised its estimates on supplying the European continent with gas, which relieves anxiety among traders for a while, while Europe seeks to store more gas after reaching low levels not seen in a decade. Mild weather in major LNG consuming countries helps reduce pressure on fuel prices, which are used to generate electric power. While the weather forecast from «Reventiv – Refinitiv» Temperatures in Seoul and Tokyo will be below average over the next two weeks.

Futures

The report indicated that in the United States, natural gas futures prices rose on Friday, as a result of expectations of rising temperatures, which may boost demand for gas used for conditioning. Gas futures prices rose by two years to settle at $3.85 per million British thermal units. With gas prices in Europe and Asia more than three times higher than the price of US gas, analysts expect US LNG exports to remain high this year.