Weekly Oil Report: Hesitations Lingering in the Markets

Oil was still under pressure by dollar powering, possible supply increase, and next year demand outlook. Accordingly, Brent finished the week with a loss at $81.14 and WTI at $80.82 on Friday. Although bearish factors have mounted, options traders are still betting on higher prices around $250.

It is vividly clear for every market participant that prices need a correction after a sharp growth or decline. Crude oil is exactly experiencing moments of correction after a rally. The price has a possibility of declining to 76 dollars during a couple of weeks. Therefore, the market overall outlook is still bullish on commodities.

The financial path of the US is not clearly stated by the Federal Reserve but the dollar had a strong gain during the last week as tapering seems to be more possible to tame inflation. Oil was under pressure by this gain. More reports will be released on inflation conditions in the coming weeks. The FED seems to be more certain about tapering strategies.

Petrochemicals were almost steady in various regions despite the decline in crude. The rising prices have been a result of raw material shortages or extra expenses, such as freights or shipping obstacles. Some traders try to find the best petrochemicals and also bitumen prices of the current market and do their deals to avoid possible future losses.