[ad_1]
Aerial view of a drilling rig operated by China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) sitting in the Shengli Chengdao offshore oil field December 2, 2020 in Dongying, Shandong Province of China.
Xu Jianjun | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Oil was slightly lower on Monday, relatively calm after four sessions of wild price swings, as efforts continued to extract the giant container ship clogging the Suez Canal and little new material emerged in the demand picture. .
Brent oil was down 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $ 64.39 a barrel at 0141 GMT. US crude fell 22 cents, or 0.4%, to $ 60.75 a barrel.
Both benchmarks are pretty much where they were before Ever Given became a household name after the container ship got stuck in a narrow part of the canal last week.
Hundreds of other container ships, bulk carriers and tankers loaded with oil are supported at both ends of the canal as rescue crews stepped up searches and dredging to refloat the 400-meter (440-yard) vessel.
“With each passing day the oil increases on the water rather than in the refinery for processing,” said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at axi. This “should help tighten the physical market and stabilize prices.”
Oil prices rose more than 4% on Friday, capping a week of wild swings as traders and investors tried to weigh the impact of blocking a key trade transit point and the wider effect of lockdowns to stop coronavirus infections.
Prices are supported by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will maintain lower production levels when they meet this week. [nL8N2LM312]
[ad_2]
Source link