Oil settles down 2%, big weekly drop after US jobs data
Brent settles at lowest since Dec 2021
US employment increased less than expected in Aug
US active oil rig count held at 483 this week
Adds CFTC data
By Nicole Jao
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Oilprices settled 2% lower onFriday, with a big weekly loss after data U.S. jobs data was weaker than expected in August, which outweighed price support from adelay to supply increases by OPEC+ producers.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down $1.63,or 2.24%,to $71.06 a barrel, their lowest level since Dec. 2021. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 fell$1.48, or 2.14%, to$67.67, their lowest since June 2023.
For the week, Brent declined 10%, while WTI dropped around 8%.
U.S. government data showed employment increased less than expected in August, but a drop in the jobless rate to 4.2% suggested an orderly labor market slowdown that may notwarrant a big interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this month.
"The jobs report was a little soft and implied that the economy in the U.S. is on the slide," Bob Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Concerns around Chinese demand also kept pressuring oil prices, Yawger said.
On Thursday, Brent settled at its lowest since June 2023 despite a withdrawal from U.S. oil inventories and a decision by OPEC+ to delay planned oil output increases.
U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 6.9 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels last week, compared with a projected decline of 993,000 barrels in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Signals that Libya's rival factions could be closer to an agreement to end the dispute that has halted the country's crudeexports also pressured oil prices this week. Exports remained mostly shut in but some loadings have been permitted from storage.
Bank of America lowered its Brent price forecast for the second half of 2024 to $75 a barrel from almost $90 previously, it said in a note on Friday, citing building global inventories, weaker demand growth and OPEC+ spare production capacity.
The U.S. active oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, remained unchanged at 483 this week, energy services firm Baker Hughes BKR.O reported on Friday.
Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to Sept. 3, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York, Robert Harvey in London and Colleen Howe in Beijing; editing by David Goodman, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton, Paul Simao, Alexander Smith and David Gregorio
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
