Oil slumps on fears that recession would cut demand – The Peninsula

Oil slumps on fears that recession would cut demand – The Peninsula

Doha: Both benchmarks saw their biggest weekly percentage drops in about a month, largely on fears earlier in the week that a nearing recession would chop away at demand. Brent lost 5.5 percent in its third weekly drop, while WTI was down 6.9 percent in its second weekly decline.

However, oil gained 2.5 percent on Friday after a U.S. official told Reuters that an immediate Saudi oil output boost was not expected, and as investors question whether OPEC has the room to significantly ramp up crude production.

Brent crude futures settled at $101.16 a barrel, rising $2.06, while West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $97.59 a barrel, gaining $1.81. Meanwhile, the U.S. oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, inched up by two to 599 this week to their highest since March 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes said.

Also signalling more oil supply on the horizon was Libya’s oil chief, who said crude output will resume after meeting groups that have blockaded the country’s oil facilities for months. Bearish market sentiment has also followed renewed COVID-19 outbreaks in China, which have hampered a demand recovery.

Meanwhile, analysts expect continued pressure on oil from concerns over the global economy.

Asian spot liquefied natural