5.3% increase in Brent crude in a week

Doha – Raya :

The report of the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development said: Oil transactions closed on Friday below the level of $ 40 a barrel, as the high global incidence of Covid-19 virus raised concerns about weak demand, and the counting of votes in the US presidential elections kept Markets are on alert.

Brent crude closed at $ 39.45 a barrel, down $ 1.48, or 3.62 percent. WTI crude fell $ 1.65, or 4.25 percent, to $ 37.14 a barrel.

In spite of this, both crude oil prices posted weekly gains, as Brent crude increased by 5.3% and US crude rose by 3.8%.

On the other hand, the diminishing prospect of approval of a US economic stimulus package was also weighing on the market. On Friday, the US Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said: The economic statistics, including the reduction of the unemployment rate in the United States by one percentage point, showed that Congress should enact a smaller stimulus package to counter the effects of the Covid-19 virus.

The report noted that OPEC Plus may delay raising production by two million barrels per day in January, due to weak demand after the new closings, which could provide support to prices.

Official data by the US Energy Information Administration also showed that the level of US crude inventories, which fell last week by 8 million barrels, provided additional support last week, against analysts’ expectations of an increase in stocks.

Gas

According to the report, spot LNG prices fell in Asia last week due to lower Chinese demand and expectations of increased shipments from the United States, although the delay in loading operations at the gas export plant in Malaysia has provided price support.

The average price of LNG to be delivered in December to Northeast Asia was estimated at $ 6.70 per million British thermal units, down 80 cents from the previous week.

Several sources stated that LNG shipments were delayed from the Bintulu plant. Bintulu “In Malaysia, though it was not immediately clear what kind of problem the factory was facing. While the company said «Kepler – Matchmaker»According to the data, there are seven ships currently waiting to be loaded from the factory, compared to the usual number of ships, which ranges between 3 to 5, adding that only one shipment has been exported so far this week, indicating that there are obstacles in production, which may support the prices of the week Next.

And there was a request from Kuwait and Taiwan last week, as both state-run companies are seeking to purchase shipments delivered during the December-January period, although it is not yet clear whether bids have been awarded. While the company issued «generation – GailIndian tender for two shipments from the “Cove Point” plant. Cove Point»In the United States, it is also seeking to obtain two additional shipments from January to February.

Natural gas futures prices fell in the United States on Friday, for the fifth consecutive day due to expectations of milder weather next week and a steady increase in production. The drop in prices came despite an increase in LNG exports this week to record levels.

The gas futures contract fell by 1.8 percent to settle at $ 2.88 per million British thermal units, its lowest level since the 19 of October. At the weekly level, prices have decreased by nearly 14 percent, after rising by 64 percent in the previous six weeks.