Texas Intermediate Oil (WTI) prices closed 4.3% lower on Thursday and rose to $ 58.56 as concerns about a recovery in demand resurfaced.
At the end of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI futures for delivery in May fell $ 2.62 from the close of the previous day.
The crude US reference lost part of what it had recovered the day before due to the blockade of the Suez Canal by a ship blocked on Tuesday and which caused supply problems.
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Maritime authorities temporarily suspended traffic on the canal today “until the completion of the re-floating works of the giant container ship” Ever given, which blocked 150 ships, according to Leth Agencies.
The Texas barrel declined as worries prevailed today about the possibility of a new wave of coronavirus in Europe and the return of contagion to key emerging oil economies, overshadowing the recovery in demand.
“Concerns about the delay in recovering demand persist on market sentiment as the number of infections from Europe to India begins to scare again,” said Rystad Energy analyst Bjornar Tonhaugen.
On the other hand, the market also fearfully monitors the “speed of vaccinations and their effectiveness” and assesses “the risk of inflation due to monetary and fiscal stimuli, which limit the appetite” in the stock market, he added.
The US Energy Information Administration revealed yesterday that there was a higher-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 major drop in prices due to expectations that the OPEC + alliance, which meets next week, will decide to lift its agreed production restrictions for May.
Gasoline contracts due in April fell 7 cents to $ 1.92 a gallon, and gas contracts for same-month delivery added 5 cents to $ 2.57 a thousand cubic meters.