After a massive sell-off on Thursday, oil prices fell again early on Friday as bearish sentiment continued to hold on the market.
On Friday at 9:47 a.m. EDT, WTI crude oil prices fell 0.83 percent to $ 59.53, and Brent crude oil traded down 1.09 percent to $ 62.63 as short-term oil demand concerns prevailed.
On Thursday, oil prices fell by 9% at one point, before Brent fell by 7% that day.
“From a fundamental perspective, there was nothing behind yesterday’s movement. The market is becoming increasingly nervous around European countries again imposing restrictions on Covid-19 and, in doing so, raises concerns about the prospects for demand, “said ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao on Friday. noting that the main reason behind Thursday’s price dip was the rise in US Treasury yields and the US dollar.
The higher dollar has weighed on the oil market all week, as a stronger green dollar makes oil more expensive for other currency holders.
Some profits are also pushing oil prices down, while market participants are focusing on short-term negative signals than stronger expectations for robust oil demand, which will return later this year. Connected: Oil sees the biggest one-day loss since April 2020
The spot oil market for physical barrels in the key demand region, Asia, is also showing signs of weakening as it began to weaken in the middle of this week, with purchases from Chinese buyers reduced, say Bloomberg traders.
Recent disruptions to EU vaccination programs have made traders and speculators worried that failures could delay the reopening of major economies, including travel abroad. Most EU nations that have stopped vaccinating with the AstraZeneca vaccine because of concerns about blood clots resume fire after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday again, after a new analysis, that the vaccine is safe.
However, the blockades in Europe are not over. France has ordered the closure of Paris and 16 other areas for four weeks since Friday, again placing 21 million people, or about a third of its population, blocked due to fears of a third wave of COVID-19 cases.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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