Crude Oil Prices – Weekly Recap November 19-23

Crude oil prices rose during most of last week. The high volatility in the oil market was mostly during the beginning of the week, perhaps on account of the tensions in the Middle East and recent conflict between Israel and Hamas. The difference between Brent and WTI slightly rose but was still in $22-$23 range during the previous week. WTI oil increased by 1.92% during the week; Brent, by 2.23%. As a result, the gap between Brent and WTI reached $23.1/b on Friday.

Here is a short analysis for the price developments in oil prices (Brent and WTI) between November 19th and November 23rd and a summary of the latest EIA review on petroleum and oil stockpiles:

Oil Market – Weekly Summary

table oil prices - November 19-23 2012NYMEX Oil Future increased during last week by 1.92%; its weekly average price rose by 2.27% to $87.81 per barrel, compared with last week’s $85.87 per barrel. The average daily percent change of oil price (WTI) was 0.4%.

NYMEX Oil Future (short term delivery) reached $88.28/b by Friday, November 23rd.

Europe Brent oil also increased during the week by 2.23% and the average price rose by 1.92% compared with previous week’s average.

The difference between Brent and WTI slightly rose but remained in range during the week; the gap ranged between $22 and $23; its average premium reached $23.05; it finished the week at $23.1.

Oil Charts

In the following charts (for the week ending on November 23rd) are the daily changes in NYMEX WTI future (short term delivery) and Brent oil:

The first chart shows the changes of WTI and Brent oil during last week: WTI and Brent oil had a modest upward trend during the week.

oil WTI BRENT chart - November 19-23 2012In the second chart are the daily percent changes (i.e. shifts around the trend) of oil prices (WTI and Brent):

 

oil chart WTI Brent - percent change  November 19-23  2012Oil Stockpiles –Review:

According to the recent EIA report on the American Petroleum and oil market, for the week ending on November 23rd, U.S. Petroleum stockpiles declined by 6.2 million barrels and reached 1,782.9 million barrels.

The complete oil stockpiles review from November 22nd.

For further reading: