The price of Texas Intermediate Petroleum (WTI) closed this Thursday with a fall of 4.3% and stood at $ 58.56, as concerns about the recovery in demand resurfaced. .
At the end of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI futures contracts for delivery in May cut $ 2.62 from the previous day’s close.
The U.S. benchmark crude oil lost part of what it recovered on the eve due to the blockade of the Suez Canal by a ship that has been stranded since Tuesday and has caused supply problems.
Texas oil, market, crude, daily price list ,.
Maritime authorities today temporarily suspended traffic on the canal “until the re-floating works of the giant container ship” Ever Given, which has blocked 150 ships, are completed, according to the firm Leth Agencies.
The Texas barrel retreated as concerns about the possibility of a new wave of coronavirus in Europe and the rise in contagion in key emerging economies for crude, which are overshadowing the recovery in demand, are re-emerging today.
“Concerns about a delay in demand recovery persist in confidence in the market as the count of infections from Europe to India begins to scare again,” said analyst Bjørnar Tonhaugen , by Rystad Energy.
On the other hand, the market also looks with fear at the “speed of vaccinations and their effectiveness” and assesses the “risk of inflation due to monetary and fiscal stimuli, which is containing the stock market appetite,” he added.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed yesterday that there was a larger-than-expected weekly increase in crude oil reserves of 1.9 million barrels, which further contributed to lower prices. .
Experts point out that there is no further drop in prices due to expectations that the OPEC + alliance, which meets next week, will decide to loosen its agreed production restrictions for May.
Gasoline contracts maturing in April fell 7 cents to $ 1.92 a gallon, and natural gas contracts for delivery the same month added 5 cents to $ 2.57 per thousand cubic feet.