1 week Ago By Qatar Tribune
Qatar tribune Oil prices edged higher on Friday but posted a weekly decline, under pressure from market expectations of oversupply and uncertainty around tariff talks between the U.S. and China.
Brent crude futures settled 32 cents higher at $66.87 a barrel, taking losses to 1.6% over the week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 23 cents to $63.
02 a barrel, marking a weekly decline of 2.6%. China exempted some U.
S. imports from its steep tariffs in a sign on Friday that the trade war between the world’s top two economies could be easing, though Beijing quickly knocked down U.S.
President Donald Trump’s assertion that negotiations were underway. Traders now view further (crude price) gains as unlikely in the short-term due to the continued trade war among top global consumers and speculation that OPEC+ may accelerate production hikes from June. Oil prices fell earlier this month to four-year lows after tariffs sparked investor concern about global demand and a selloff in financial markets.
While the risk is that a weaker economy will erode demand, supplies could swell. Several OPEC+ members have suggested the group accelerate oil output increases for a second month in June. An end to the war in Ukraine also has the potential to add to supplies if it allows more Russian oil to reach global markets.
A meeting on Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was constructive and narrowed differences when it came to ending the war in Ukraine. In an indication of future supply. Asian spot prices hold at 1-year low as demand remains tepid Prices of Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) inched up this week amid production outages in Asia and Europe but were still hovering at nearly one-year lows on overall tepid demand.
The average LNG price for June delivery into north-east Asia LNG-AS was at $11.80 per mmBtu, up from $11.50 per mmBtu last week which were its lowest levels since mid-May.
There are limited buyers for prompt cargoes, with Chinese and Indian importers taking a back seat as prices are above $11.00 per mmBtu, while South Korea is currently the main spot buyer in Asia, analysts said. South Korean demand has stayed strong, with stocks held by the country’s state-owned Kogas last heard to be around 20 percent full, which has prompted buying interest not only from Kogas, but also from Komipo, Kospo and Prism.
On supply, the situation remains healthy despite the recent outage at Petronas’ Bintulu LNG complex. Equinor’s Hammerfest terminal, Europe’s largest LNG export facility, also went offline on Tuesday for planned annual maintenance until July 19. In Europe, gas price at the Dutch TTF hub settled at $10.
64 per mmBtu. While Europe’s gas demand has started to fall due to a seasonal trend, concerns surrounding storage injections for summer remain. Meanwhile, the EU’s Russian fuel phaseout roadmap promises to squash any expectation of returning Russian pipeline supplies, driving European buyers further towards seaborne imports.
— By The Al-Attiyah Foundation Copy 27/04/2025 10.
