Oil Tumbles to Three-Week Low as Virus Spread Menaces Outlook

Aug 9, 2021

(Bloomberg) Oil plunged to a three-week low, extending losses after the worst week since October, as the resurgence of Covid-19 threatened the outlook for fuel demand.Futures fell below $66 a barrel in New York after sliding almost 8% last week. The flare-up has led Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to downgrade its economic growth forecast for China, which recently completed a mass testing program in Wuhan — the original epicenter of the pandemic — following new confirmed cases. Infections have also climbed in the U.S. and Thailand.

Oil posts worst week since October amid spreading virus

“Oil is seeing a continued loss of momentum, with sentiment taking a knock,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities research at Saxo Bank A/S. “Most importantly, worries about the short-term demand outlook as governments respond to a surging delta variant” are weighing on the market.

See also: China to Keep Virus Outside its Borders, Ex-Health Official Says

Crude has run into stiff headwinds this month as the fast-spreading delta variant sweeps across the globe, leading to renewed restrictions, and as expectations that the Federal Reserve will ease stimulus strengthens the dollar.

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Prices
West Texas Intermediate for September delivery dropped 4.2% to $65.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:53 a.m. London time after falling 7.7% last week. Brent for October settlement lost 4% to $67.88 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Delta is also impacting the oil market structure. The prompt timespread for Brent has narrowed to 35 cents a barrel in backwardation — a bullish signal where near-dated contracts are more expensive than later-dated ones. That compares with 69 cents a week earlier.

Still, further price losses may be contained as the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia continues to stabilize supply levels, avoiding a new surplus. The group is gradually restoring production it halted when the coronavirus first emerged last year.

“Despite the Delta spread, the market is undersupplied on our estimates, so we believe further downside risk is limited in the short term,” said Helge Andre Martinsen, senior oil market analyst at DNB Bank ASA.

Other market news:
Saudi Aramco followed its Big Oil competitors with bumper earnings, boosted by a recovery in oil and chemical prices. China’s crude oil imports slipped last month after operations were halted at key ports on the east coast due to a typhoon. Shale drillers are showing so much financial self-discipline that next year’s oil-production forecasts may be in peril, according to Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. An epochal new report from the world’s top climate scientists warns that the planet will warm to 1.5° Celsius in the next two decades without drastic moves to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution.

Other market news:

Saudi Aramco followed its Big Oil competitors with bumper earnings, boosted by a recovery in oil and chemical prices.
China’s crude oil imports slipped last month after operations were halted at key ports on the east coast due to a typhoon.
Shale drillers are showing so much financial self-discipline that next year’s oil-production forecasts may be in peril, according to Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.
An epochal new report from the world’s top climate scientists warns that the planet will warm to 1.5° Celsius in the next two decades without drastic moves to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution.