Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Oil futures fell Friday, remaining under pressure as COVID-19 cases continued to rise, underlining worries over demand as some countries introduce new restrictions on business and consumer activity.
West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery
CL.1,
fell $1.45, or 3.7%, to $37.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while January Brent crude
BRN00,
was off $1.29, or 3.2%, to trade at $39.64 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Investors fear the continued rise in COVID-19 infections threatens to squelch the economic rebound. The U.S. on Thursday saw new cases top 100,000 for a second day in a row, marking consecutive records, while several European countries have imposed tougher business lockdowns.
The pandemic is “casting its shadow on the oil market because record numbers of new cases and deaths are being reported on a daily basis in many countries,” said Eugen Weinberg, analyst at Commerzbank, in a note. “The restrictions that are already in place, coupled with possible long-term changes to travel behavior, are likely to prompt the oil agencies to downwardly revise their demand forecasts next week.”
Crude oil prices remain on track for strong weekly gains, however. Crude was boosted earlier in the week as stocks extended gains following U.S. Election Day on Tuesday. Democratic challenger Joe Biden continued to close in on a victory over President Donald Trump Friday. That’s a potential weight on crude, Weinberg said, because it makes a rapprochement with Iran more likely, which would add more crude to the market.
Crude remained lower after oil-field-services company Baker Hughes said the number of U.S. oil rigs rose by 5 this week to 226.
In other energy trading, December gasoline
RBZ20,
fell 2.6% to $1.087 a gallon, while December heating oil
HOZ20,
was off 2.2% at $1.1435 a gallon.
January natural gas
NGF21,
fell 1.8% to $3.03 per million British thermal units.
