Oil weekly loss at 2-year high

new york — Oil prices slid more than 3 per cent on Friday as US futures fell below $60 a barrel for the first time since December on renewed concerns about rising crude supplies.

US and Brent crude futures have slid more than 11 per cent from this year’s peak in late January. Brent fell nearly 9 per cent for the week while US crude dropped 10 per cent, the steepest weekly declines since January 2016.

Futures posted a sixth straight day of losses, wiping away the year’s gains in a string of highvolume trading sessions, pressured by stronger-than-expected supply figures and a surprising ramp-up of the North Sea Forties Pipeline, which shut earlier last week.

Turmoil on Wall Street also pressured crude. During the trading session, the S&P 500 stock index fell to its lowest level since October 5. The S&P recovered to end the day higher, which helped oil bounce off session lows.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down $1.95, or 3.2 per cent, to $59.20, the lowest settlement since December 22. The session low for US crude was $58.07. More than 845,000 contracts changed hands in another above-average day for trading volumes.

Brent futures fell $2.02 a barrel, or 3.1 per cent, to $62.79 a barrel, its lowest settlement since December 13.

“It’s never just one factor that slams the market like this. It’s several factors,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates.

Oil services company Baker Hughes said total US onshore rigs rose by 26 to 791, the highest since April 2015 and the biggest one-week rise in a year.

Oil is inversely correlated with the dollar, which has strengthened as equities markets slid. — Reuters