Crude oil prices closed on Friday, rising for the first time in four sessions, but recorded losses for the second week in a row, after the United States and its allies announced a massive release of oil from emergency reserves.
New York – Sputnik. Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed trading in London, up $2.20, or 2.2%, at $102.78 a barrel, after a cumulative loss of 7% in the previous three trading days.
Over the course of the week, “Brent” lost 1.5% of its value, after last week’s decline of 13.5%, which is its worst weekly performance since April 2020, when oil demand fell in conjunction with the beginning of the pandemic.
At the close in New York, West Texas Intermediate crude recorded an increase of $2.23, or 2.3%, at $98.26, but it recorded a weekly loss of 1% this week, after a decline of 13% last week, which also represents the worst weekly performance in two years. .
Crude oil prices have fallen over the past three days after the International Energy Agency said it would release 60 million barrels of its members’ reserves into the open market, in addition to the 180 million barrels announced by the United States.
A combined 240 million barrels will be added to the market over six months, resulting in a net flow of 1.33 million barrels per day.
This would be more than three times the monthly increases of 400,000 barrels per day in production that global oil producers have been following within the “OPEC +” alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The “OPEC +” alliance has an additional production capacity of at least four million barrels of regular daily supply, which it keeps out of the market to ensure that crude oil prices remain within control.
Crude oil prices fell earlier this week, as investors worried about oil demand after the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in Shanghai in two years led to the shutdown of China’s second-largest city.
Oil rises after 3 days of decline, but records the second consecutive weekly loss
