Crude oil prices continued to rally during last week. Further, the gap between Brent and WTI was also expanded. The news of the increase in the Philly Fed index and housing starts may have contributed to the increase in oil prices.
The oil stockpiles rose again during the previous week by 1.4 M bl.
By the end of last week, WTI oil increased by 4.98% and Brent by 4.59%; as a result, the gap between Brent and WTI reached $15.89/b on Friday.
Here is a short review for the price changes in oil (Brent and WTI) between July 16th and July 20th and a summary of the recent EIA report on petroleum and oil stockpiles:
Oil Market – Weekly Summary
WTI oil price (spot) rose during last week by 4.98%; its weekly average price also increased by 5.3% to $90.32 per barrel, compared with last week’s $85.78 per barrel. The average daily percent change of oil price (WTI) was 0.99%.
NYMEX Oil Future (short term delivery) also rose by 5.43% during the week, and reached $91.83/b by Friday, July 20th.
Europe Brent oil also increased during the week by 4.59% and the average price increased by 6.02% compared with previous week’s average.
The difference between Brent and WTI spot expanded again during the week as it ranged between $15 and $16; its average premium reached $16.04; it finished the week at $15.89.
Oil Charts
In the following charts (for the week ending on July 13th) are the daily shifts in WTI spot oil, NYMEX Future (short term delivery) and Brent oil:
The first chart presents the developments of WTI and Brent oil during last week: WTI and Brent oil had a moderate upward trend during most of the week.
In the second chart are the daily percent shifts (i.e. shifts around the trend) of oil prices (WTI spot oil, WTI future, Brent spot):
Oil Stockpiles –Review:
According to the recent EIA report on the American Petroleum and oil market, for the week ending on July 13th, U.S. Petroleum stockpiles edged up by 1.4 million bl and reached 1,798.4 million barrels.
The complete oil stockpiles review from July 13th.
For further reading: