By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
The discovery of a new coronavirus variant named Omicron triggered global alarm on Friday as countries rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa, and the equity and commodity markets on both sides of the Atlantic suffered their most significant drop in more than a year.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Crude futures moved sharply lower on Friday as the markets weighed the impacts of new pandemic lockdowns in Europe and a stronger US dollar. WTI settled down $2.91 at $76.10, and Brent moved $2.35 lower to settle at $78.89.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Prices notched the longest stretch of weekly losses since March, with President Biden keeping investors guessing about whether he’ll act to tame higher energy prices that are driving a surge in inflation.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
The OPEC+ group of major producers agreed on Thursday to stick to their plan to raise oil output by 400,000 b/d from December, ignoring calls from President Biden for extra output to cool rising prices.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Futures rose above $84 a barrel on Friday, within sight of a multi-year high hit last week. Expectations that OPEC and its allies will keep supply tight countered a weekly rise in US inventories and the prospect of more Iranian exports.
By Tom Whipple, The Energy Bulletin
Futures rallied last week on concerns that rising consumption is racing ahead of supply. Oil prices rose early on Thursday, with Brent Crude rallying to $86.10—the highest price since October 2018.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
US crude futures posted an eighth straight weekly gain, the longest stretch of advances since 2015. Brent crude topped $85 a barrel in London for the first time since 2018, the latest milestone in a global energy crisis that has seen prices soar.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
West Texas Intermediate crude closed above $80 a barrel on Monday for the first time since late 2014 as a growing power crisis from Europe to Asia boosts demand for oil ahead of winter.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Prices rose for the fifth straight week with the global energy crunch set to boost demand for crude as stockpiles decline from the US to China.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Brent futures dipped on Friday but held above $75 a barrel, remaining on track for weekly gains of more than 3% thanks to the slow recovery in output after two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Futures rose towards $73 a barrel on Friday as refineries in Louisiana restarted and returning offshore production could not keep pace.
By Tom Whipple, Steve Andrews, The Energy Bulletin
Damages to oil production facilities in the US Gulf of Mexico kept output largely halted a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall, according to offshore regulator the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.