A view of a petrochemical plant in the Texas Panhandle, US.
Doha, Qatar: Oil prices dipped on Friday, a day after topping $85 a barrel for the first time since November, but prices finished more than 3% higher for the week on rising demand from US refiners completing planned overhauls. Brent crude oil futures slid 9 cents or 0.11% to $85.34 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 17 cents or 0.21% to $81.04, noted Al-Attiyah Foundation in its Weekly Energy Market Review.
Supplies are tightening for motor fuels and prices are at risk to go higher, analysts said. However, there are worries the US Federal Reserve won’t be able to cut interest rates because inflation remains above the central bank’s target of 2%. Cuts in interest rates are seen as an opportunity for demand growth in the United States.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency on Thursday raised its view on 2024 oil demand for a fourth time since November as Houthi attacks have disrupted Red Sea shipping. World oil demand will rise by 1.3 million bpd in 2024, the IEA said in its latest report, up 110,000 bpd from last month. It forecasts a slight supply deficit this year should OPEC+ members sustain their output cuts having previously forecast a surplus. In the US, oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose 6 to 510 last week, Baker Hughes said.
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices inched up on Friday after remaining flat last week, amid concerns over some cargo delays due to bad weather in Australia and as Asian buyers embraced the low prices. The average LNG price for April delivery into north-east Asia, which expires on Friday, remained unchanged from last week at $8.60 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a level last seen in late April 2021, industry sources estimated.
However, the price for May delivery jumped to $9/mmBtu, the sources added. With European receipts already slowing so far this month, the incentive for inter-basin flows could weigh on European LNG supply further in the coming weeks.
