Oil prices staged another gain last week, despite weakening on Friday on reports that Iraq’s crude exports rose to a 30-year high last month, and production from the OPEC countries hit its highest level in two and a half years.
News of another fall in the number of US oil and gas rigs didn’t help support prices on Friday night.
Oil’s gains in recent weeks have also been fed by the slide in the value of the US dollar, especially against the euro and the drop in oil rig use in the US.
But despite Friday’s losses, oil prices notched the best monthly gain in nearly six years in April of more than 25%, and managed the seventh weekly rise in a row.
US West Texas June crude lost 48c or 0.8%, to settle at $US59.15 a barrel in New York, which was up 3.5% for the week.
In London Brent crude for June delivery fell 32c, or 0.5%, to $US66.46 a barrel on Friday night. That was still a gain of 1.8%. for the week and the fourth straight weekly win.
On Friday, oil services group Baker Hughes said in its weekly report on rig use that the number of rigs in use last week fell 24 to 679, the 21st week of declines.
But what caught the eye was a rise in the number of rigs being used in the Bakken shales of North Dakota. It was only a rise of 1 rig, but it was an increase when a reduction had been expected. Another rise next week will really put the cat among the oil bulls.
Oil was buffeted by news that Iraq said its oil exports rose to the highest level in 30 years – about 3.08 million barrels a day in April from 2.98 million barrels a day in March.
And surveys conducted separately by Reuters and Bloomberg said OPEC oil output in April was at or near their highest levels since late 2012.
Domestic US oil production averaged 9.37 million barrels a day in the week ended April 24, down from the record 9.42 million reached in March, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Weekly production also eased for the third week in four and oil stocks at Cushing in Oklahoma, the biggest US storage hub, fell for the first time since November.
So it would seem oil is being set up for another run if the weekly reports on production, stocks and rig use keep falling.
But some analysts caution that the price surge for oil has already happened and what we might see is profit taking, especially in there’s more currency weakness.
Meanwhile Comex gold futures in New York lost ground on Friday and last week, wringing the last vestiges of a mini-surge in early April.
In fact Comex gold futures settled at their lowest level in six weeks at the close on Friday night, notching up a third straight weekly fall.
Gold for June delivery fell $US7.90, or 0.7%, to settle at $US1,174.50 an ounce early Saturday morning, our time.
That’s a loss of nearly $US40 over the past two trading sessions, and gold prices closed at their lowest level since March 19.
Gold futures ends the week down 50c on the previous week’s settlement and have now fallen three straight weeks.
Comex July silver futures shed 1.8c, or 0.1%, to $US16.135 an ounce, with prices up 3.2% for the week.
Comex July copper rose 4.3c, or 1.5%, to $US2.9295 a pound, with prices up about 6.6% for the week.
The $US3 a pound level can’t be far away.
