Crude oil price after all three major indexes (WTI spot, WTI future and Brent spot) were moving mostly in sync in the past, this week they separated, as the WTI spot fell below 88$/b, WTI future (February delivery) declined to 89$/b and Brent spot rose most of the week to settle near 97$/b.
Here is a weekly recap for January 18-21 on the main changes in crude oil price, and recapping the highlights in petroleum stocks changes according to the recent EIA report:
Crude oil price
* This figure is calculated based on the percent change from the price at the beginning of the week compare to the price at the end of the week
Crude oil price (WTI spot) weekly average of 89.76$/b fell by 1.4% compare to last week’s average price of 91.02$/b. On average, crude oil price (WTI) daily change was -1%, and its price declined by 3.74% from beginning to end of the week.
The WTI crude oil price ranged between 89.76 $/b and 91.38 $/b – a range of 3.42$/b, which is higher than last week’s range.
Europe Brent spot price while it declined by 0.9% from beginning to end of the week, its average weekly price was 97.26$/b a 0.2% increase compare to last week’s average.
NYMEX Futures Price (future for February) usually moving in sync with WTI spot price, this week, however, it has separated and fell moderately, comparing to the WTI spot, by 2.48% from beginning to end of the week as it settled on 89.11$/b – a 1.15$/b gap between future and spot price – the largest gap this month.
Petroleum Stocks –highlights:
In my recent review on last week’s EIA report petroleum stocks in the US have increased for the second straight week, as they rose by 0.1%, an increase of nearly 2.3 million barrels of crude oil.
The main reason for this rise is related to the increase in Stocks of Total Gasoline, which inclined by 2% a 4.4 million barrels rise – reaching 227.6 million barrels.
For the complete petroleum stocks, consumption and production review see here.
Crude oil charts
The following charts show the changes of WTI spot price, NYMEX Futures Prices (future for February) and Europe Brent spot price:
The chart above shows that while Brent price has no apparent trend (upward or downward) the WTI spot and future prices show a clear downward trend from the middle of the week.
The final graph shows the crude oil price (WTI spot, WTI future, Brent spot) daily percent change ranging between 1.2 percent incline for Brent spot price on Friday, and a 2.6 percent decline on Thursday also for Brent spot price.
For further reading (in this site):
- Crude oil price & natural gas price – Weekly recap January 10-14
- Petroleum stocks review shows a rise – January 21
- Crude oil price in 2010 and outlook for 2011
In other sites: