Oil edges down after week of gains
The price of a barrel of crude is still at the highest level in seven years, with several factors pointing to continued high demand.
The recovery since last year’s Covid-19 crisis appears sturdy after the US released impressive GDP figures revealing the highest growth since 1984.
Meanwhile, oil stockpiles are drawing at a time with the conflict over Ukraine where the battlelines between the US and Russia are still being drawn.
”It is very hard to talk about any direction at this point,” says energy analyst at DBS Bank Suvro Sarkar to Bloomberg News.
In his assessment, the geopolitical risks, which principally relate to the Ukraine conflict, mean that the price of a barrel of oil is USD 5-7 higher than it would otherwise have been.
”In the near term, it is all about Ukraine-related news flow,” says Sarkar.
A barrel of European benchmark crude Brent costs USD 89.66 Friday morning against USD 89.89 Thursday afternoon and USD 87.67 last Friday. Meanwhile, US benchmark WTI trades at USD 87.03 against USD 87.33 Thursday afternoon and USD 85.07 a week ago.
Oil falls due to investor fears of rate hike
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