Oil prices settled lower on Friday, as demand worries due to new coronavirus-related restrictions on business in New York overshadowed progress toward vaccination programmes.
On Friday, Brent futures settled down 0.6 percent at $49.97 a barrel, although the contract had risen above $51 a barrel on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled the week at $46.57, having risen almost 3 percent in Thursday’s session. For the week, Brent was up 1.5 percent, and WTI was up less than 1 percent. That was the sixth consecutive week of gains for the first time since June.
Restrictions in New York were weighing on Friday’s prices after funds had placed net long bets as Brent topped $50 a barrel in the previous session. Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered New York City restaurants to suspend indoor dining effective Monday, amid an uptick in cases.
However, promising vaccine trials have helped lift some gloom over record increases in the number of coronavirus infections and deaths around the world, and Cuomo sounded a note of optimism, saying he expected 170,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to be in New York as early as next week.
A big jump in US crude stockpiles last week served as a reminder that there is still plenty of supply available, but it was all but ignored as bulls ran through the market this week. Another signal of abundant supplies came on Friday as US energy firms this week added the most oil and natural gas rigs since January as producers keep returning to the well pad.
A fall in world shares as markets confronted the risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a trade deal also weighed on sentiment last week. On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a deal was unlikely.
Asian spot prices for LNG rose last week to the highest since September 2018 due to high demand for heating, a supply crunch, and increasing freight rates. The average LNG price for January delivery into North-East Asia was $11.10 per million British thermal units, up $3.00 from the previous week. Prices for February delivery were estimated at $10.50 per mmBtu.
