Crude oil prices edged down again during most of the week. The rise in the U.S stock markets along with the slightly positive news on the rise in the U.S new home sales and increase in core durable good may have been among the factors to curb the fall oil prices and even reverse their course by the end of the week. The ongoing speculation around the future of Greece in the European Union may have adversely affected the oil market.
The oil stockpiles slightly increased during the previous week by 1M bl.
By the end of last week, WTI oil declined by 0.9% and Brent by nearly 0.03%; as a result, the difference between Brent and WTI reached $17.29/b on Friday.
Here is a short review for the price changes in oil (Brent and WTI) between May 21st and May 25th and a summary of the recent EIA petroleum and oil stockpiles report:
Oil Market – Weekly Summary
WTI oil price (spot) declined again during last week by 0.9%; its weekly average price also fell by 2.3% to $90.28 per barrel, compared with last week’s $93.12 per barrel. The average daily percent change of oil price (WTI) was -0.17%.
NYMEX Oil Future (June delivery) also slipped by 0.68% during the week, and reached $90.86/b by Friday, May 25th.
Europe Brent oil also edged down during the week by 0.03% and the average price also declined by 1.14% compared with previous week’s average.
The difference between Brent and WTI spot slightly rose during the week as it ranged between $17 and $18; its average premium reached $17.55; it finished the week at $17.29.
Oil Charts
In the following charts (for the week ending on May 25th) are the daily changes in WTI spot oil, NYMEX Future (June delivery) and Brent oil:
The first chart presents the changes of WTI and Brent oil during last week: both oil rates have had a very moderate downward trend during most of the week.
The second chart shows the developments of the daily percent changes (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 U.S Petroleum and oil market, for the week ending on May 18th, U.S. Petroleum stockpiles rose by 1 million bl and reached 1,770.97 million barrels.
The complete oil stockpiles review from May 23rd.
For further reading: