After expectations related to Gulf of Mexico supply disruptions in the United States and stagnation fears in demand, oil prices are down about 2%.
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Oil drops 2%, with expectations that the disruption to US Gulf supplies will soon end
Oil prices fell nearly 2% on Friday, on expectations that Gulf of Mexico supply disruptions in the United States will be short-lived, while recession fears cast a shadow over demand expectations.
However, futures contracts are still on track for weekly gains. Brent crude futures fell $1.45, or 1.5 percent, to $98.15 a barrel at the settlement, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $2.25, or 2.4 percent, to $92.09 a barrel at the close. Both crudes rose more than 2% on Thursday.
Brent crude rose 3.4% this week after falling 14% last week, amid fears that higher inflation and interest rates would affect economic growth and fuel demand, while WTI rose 3.7%.
An official at the port of “Louisiana” said that crews are expected to replace a damaged part of the pipeline today, which will allow production to resume at 7 US offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell, the largest oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico, reported earlier that it had stopped production at 3 deep-water rigs in the region, which produce up to 410,000 barrels of oil per day in total.
The market also absorbed the discrepancy between the “OPEC” and the International Energy Agency in their expectations of demand. “We are witnessing an economic slowdown, but it is not clear whether it is a significant slowdown as some recent forecasts indicate,” said Ole Hansen, director of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, commenting: “The movement of demand is like a tidal, but supply remains a source of concern.” the main”.
European sanctions on Russian oil are due to be tightened later this year, while a coordinated 6-month plan between the United States and other advanced economies to draw down their energy stocks is due to expire by the end of the year.
On Thursday, “OPEC” cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2022 by 260,000 barrels per day, while I expected earlier today, increased demand By 3.1 million barrels per day this year.
This contrasts with The vision of the International Energy Agency Which raised its forecast for demand growth to 2.1 million barrels per day due to the shift to oil instead of gas to generate electricity as a result of the rise in global gas prices.