Oil falls for second week as Iran speculation sways quiet market
BNN Bloomberg
Oil posted its second straight weekly decline as signals of additional crude supplies and a deteriorating global demand outlook loomed over a string of thinly traded sessions.
The narrative of tight supplies that has driven crude’s rally since June has faded amid prospects that the U.S. will ease sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. Meanwhile, faltering growth in China and abysmal economic data in Europe have dimmed the outlook for demand. In the physical market, Marathon Petroleum Corp. is shutting the third-largest oil refinery in the U.S. after a fire.
Crude has had a volatile week, with prices often struggling for direction amid thin summer trading. Oil’s open interest is hovering near January lows, while the U.S. Oil Fund ETF reported its biggest daily outflow since 2020 on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate futures settled below US$80 a barrel, cementing a 1.7 per cent weekly decline.