Asian spot LNG prices rise last week on positive sentiment – The Peninsula

Asian spot LNG prices rise last week on positive sentiment – The Peninsula

Doha: Oil prices settled lower in volatile trading yesterday, with both benchmarks recording their biggest weekly declines in months, as growing recession fears negated any supply woes after weak economic data from China, Europe, and the United States. Brent crude dropped 5 cents lower at $76.10 per barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 44 cents lower at $71.02 a barrel. Both crude benchmarks posted weekly losses of around 10 percent each.

It was the biggest weekly decline since April for the US WTI futures, and since early August for Brent. The slightly higher-than-expected rise in the US producer prices index (PPI), and news of a partial restart on the Keystone Pipeline pushed the benchmarks lower.

Keystone shut earlier last week after an oil leak in Kansas. The 12 months through November PPI increased 7.4 percent amid a jump in the costs of services, according to a report from the US Labor Department. The increase may make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will “step on the accelerator” on interest rate hikes, furthering fears of a looming recession, analysts said. In China, surging COVID-19 infections will likely depress economic growth in the next few months despite some restrictions being eased.

Asian spot LNG