Weekly Oil Report: Fear Rising by Tensions in Markets

A bit of growth in crude oil could not fade the fear in the market. Fuel and bitumen were almost downward.

Brent closed at $85.90 and WTI settled at $80.21 on Friday, 2 Dec.

Crude oil, as expected last week, had a slight comeback after a moderately sharp fall. The price movement was weak in the last few days as the market was hesitant about the OPEC decision on 4 Dec.

The monthly candle of WTI in November closed with a lower price compared to last month. You can see the market’s uncertainty through the last 3 months. The MACD indicator is showing a slight weakness in bears on the weekly chart. The price can be growing to the end of the week. Yet the OPEC decision can be very effective on the opening sentiments.

Besides the OPEC decision, Russia’s price cap and China were the main players in the market. The embargoes on Russian crude have started but it is not much effective. The big discount was already making the price in the proposed range and literally, nothing is changed for Russia. Many countries also boosted their purchases before the new onset of sanctions. Some, such as India and China, have also clearly made their stand to refuse the embargoes.

Zero covid protests are making things much more complicated in China. It looks like China’s government loosen the policy gradually. If it happens as expected, an increase in demand in the market of the 2nd largest importer of crude can be possible.

Bitumen prices and fuel fell last week. Fuel was very volatile it fell by about $8 on Friday and bitumen fluctuations were in the range of $10.

Below, you can check several bitumen prices in different regions.