Oil set for steep weekly decline on worsening demand outlook
BNN Bloomberg
Oil was poised for a weekly loss of almost eight per cent as concerns over a softer demand outlook filtered through the market.
Demand for winter-delivery cargoes has slipped from Singapore to Houston, while the forward curve for both major crude benchmarks has weakened in a sign of ample supply. West Texas Intermediate edged up 0.6 per cent on Friday, remaining near $82 a barrel after Thursday's slump.
Oil futures are trading near their lowest level since September amid swelling COVID cases in China and aggressive monetary tightening by central banks. A deteriorating market for physical barrels has also weighed on prices. Crude is trading below several key moving averages, sparking so-called technical-based selling, against a backdrop of elevated speculative long positions.
