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Oil Fluctuates Near $41 Amid Demand Uncertainty, European Growth


These translations are done via Google Translate

By Sharon Cho and Alex Longley

(Bloomberg) Oil swung between gains and losses as deteriorating U.S.-China relations cast doubt over the strength of the demand recovery, but European economic data showed a return to growth.

U.S. crude futures rose 0.9%, poised to eke out a second weekly gain as the news of euro-area growth added to confidence already buoyed by stimulus measures agreed Tuesday. Yet strained U.S.-China ties continued to cloud the outlook, with Beijing ordering America to close its consulate in Chengdu.

WTI set to eke out second weekly gain

Oil’s recovery from its plunge below zero has stalled, with futures stuck in a tight range since the end of June as rising coronavirus infections across major economies raise doubts that demand can rebound swiftly. U.S. crude stockpiles are climbing, Chinese consumption is cooling and swaths of India’s refining sector are offline, adding to the bearish headwinds.

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“It is basically a very fragile situation,” Equinor ASA Chief Executive Officer Eldar Saetre said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The only thing that can support a balanced market going forward is the demand picking up, and it eventually will, but the shape and form of that pickup and what it will look like is highly uncertain.”

Prices
  • West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose 35 cents to $41.42 a barrel as of 10:16 a.m. London time, after earlier falling 0.9%
  • Brent for September settlement traded up 0.7% at $43.61

In the coming weeks, the oil market could be heading into a tricky period. OPEC+ will start returning supply next month after historic production cuts, while China’s lackluster demand is continuing to wreak havoc on the physical crude market in Asia. In Europe, Finnish refiner Neste Oyj is predicting demand for oil products will remain “severely reduced” during the third quarter.

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have now surpassed 4 million, doubling over a span of six weeks, while deaths in California and Florida rose to records on Thursday. Infections in Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong also continued to climb.

Other oil-market news:
  • Tropical Storm Hanna was 360 miles (580 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday and has already led to the evacuation of some offshore oil and gas platforms.
  • Indian refiners are poised for a busy few weeks as some take advantage of weaker demand to work on their plants, with about a fifth of the nation’s processing capacity set to be halted.
  • Equinor reported a surprise quarterly profit, helped by trading gains in chaotic markets and a tax change designed to help the Norwegian oil industry through the Covid-19 crisis.


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