South Belridge Oil Field is the fourth largest oil field in California and one of the most productive in the USA.
David McNew | fake pictures
Crude prices fell on Friday as the resurgence of the coronavirus globally and in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, dimmed prospects for a recovery in fuel demand.
Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.9%, to $ 42.77 a barrel from 0042 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 34 cents, or 0.8%, to $ 40.31 a barrel .
Both benchmarks rose more than 2% on Thursday, fueled by stronger-than-expected US jobs data and a drop in US crude inventories. For the week, Brent rose 4.3% and WTI rose 4.7 %.
However, increases in daily coronavirus cases globally and in the United States pressured prices. New US COVID-19 cases increased by more than 50,000 on Thursday, setting a record for the third consecutive day, according to a Reuters count.
“The market is increasingly confident that loosening travel and business restrictions would increase demand for crude oil, but the progress of the pandemic threatens to derail this recovery,” ANZ Research said in a note.
“The recovery in gasoline demand will stabilize until the US economy improves,” he said.
Gasoline demand will be watched closely as the United States heads to its July 4 holiday weekend as many Americans are expected to hit the road.
Gasoline stocks in the United States increased by 1.2 million barrels in the week to June 26, according to data from the Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday.
Correction: This article was updated online with a correction issued by Reuters to accurately reflect the percentage of weekly profit for Western US Intermediate Crude Futures.
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