Reuters LONDON – Oil prices rose to their highest since early March on Wednesday on a drop in U.S. crude inventories and the weak dollar, but mounting coronavirus infections weighed on the demand outlook. Brent crude was up $1.50, or 3.4%, at $45.93 a barrel by 1345 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose $1.51, or 3.6%, to $43.21 a
Reuters Oil prices are set for a slow crawl upwards this year as the gradual easing of coronavirus-led restrictions buoy demand, although a second COVID-19 wave could slow the pace of recovery, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The survey of 43 analysts and economists forecast benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 to average $41.50 a barrel in 2020, up slightly from
Forbes The oil and gas industry’s most recent cyclical downturn, triggered by the Covid-19 global pandemic in March, has yet again invited close scrutiny of the U.S. shale industry. At one point, prior to the turn of events, shale was seen giving American hydrocarbon production a position of market superiority. In many ways it still does, especially if the sheer
Reuters ConocoPhillips reported a wider-than-expected loss on Thursday, as coronavirus-induced lockdowns sapped demand for fuel and crushed crude prices, sending shares of the world’s largest independent oil and gas producer down nearly 9%. The pandemic brought travel and other businesses to a halt under lockdowns and led to a glut of oil and gas, forcing widespread output cuts by bleeding
CNBC Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported a sharp drop in net profit for the three months through to the end of June, following an unprecedented period of energy market turmoil and significantly weaker oil and gas prices. The Anglo-Dutch company reported adjusted earnings of $638 million for the second quarter of 2020. That compared with net profit of $3.5
Reuters SINGAPORE/LONDON – Rising OPEC and U.S. oil supply, coupled with stalled economic and crude demand recovery, have pushed the futures market structure back to indicating a surplus, last observed during oil’s collapse in April and May amid the coronavirus pandemic. The development is a headache for OPEC, which had been hoping demand would recover quicker after a round of
Reuters U.S. oil and gas producer Hess Corp reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday, as higher output and lower costs helped offset a plunge in oil prices due to the coronavirus crisis, sending its shares 3% higher. Crude prices sank to historic lows in April as demand plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a price war between the
Reuters LONDON – Oil prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar, though tensions between the United States and China and wider economic uncertainty weighed. Brent crude was up 10 cents at $43.41 a barrel at 1323 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 18 cents at $41.25. China ordered the United States to close
CNBC Oil and gas majors are likely to report “horrendous” second-quarter results over the next two weeks, energy analysts have told CNBC, with the three-month period through to the end of June widely expected to mark the “low point” of 2020. “Big Oil” companies, referring to the world’s largest oil and gas majors, witnessed a historic fall in oil and
Reuters LONDON – Oil edged lower on Thursday as rising U.S. fuel inventories and concerns about surging coronavirus cases outweighed the impact of a weaker dollar, which usually boosts oil prices. Brent crude LCOc1 fell 22 cents, or 0.5%, to $44.07 a barrel by 1351 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 shed 17 cents, or 0.4%, to
Reuters LONDON – Oil prices were broadly stable on Friday in early U.S. trading, as expectations of stimulus programmes balanced concerns about the recovery in fuel demand as coronavirus cases surged, while major crude producers prepared to lift output. Brent crude futures fell 15 cents to $43.22 a barrel by 1350 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 5
Reuters LONDON/NEW YORK – Surges in coronavirus infections are slowing a recovery in fuel use from the doldrums of lockdowns in the United States and other countries, raising concern it could be years before consumption rebounds from the impact of the pandemic. Global fuel demand fell by around a quarter at the peak of the lockdowns, when over 4 billion
