New York (awp/afp) – Oil prices fell further on Friday, finding no support in the announcements of the OPEC+ alliance to spare the market, while speculators positioned themselves downwards.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in February fell 1.35%, to $71.12.
A barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) maturing in January lost 1.61% to $67.20.
Operators ignored the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in the OPEC+ agreement, announced Thursday, to postpone by one quarter, until the beginning of April, the acceleration of their production.
“A postponement will not be enough,” reacted, in a note, Daniel Ghali, of TD Securities.
“The fact that they are unable to increase their production while we are in a period of high demand in the northern hemisphere” with the arrival of winter “says a lot about the difficulties they have in balancing the market,” observes John Kilduff of Again Capital.
On Friday, oil fell, for the first time, out of the corridor in which it had been moving since mid-November.
Speculative operators “sell Brent in response to deteriorated (technical) signals”, noted Daniel Ghali, who expects this movement to strengthen in the days to come.
“The market would need a surprise from China to prevent prices from falling,” warns the analyst.
Another indicator of a pessimistic climate, prices did not benefit on Friday from the publication of good American employment figures, which testify to an economy that is still strong, even if it is decelerating.
They also did not take into account the jump in operators' expectations in favor of a possible rate cut by the American central bank (Fed) in mid-December, which would, in theory, be favorable to oil demand.
OPEC+ is not alone in being concerned about the level of supply and a possible imbalance with demand in 2025.
The American Chevron announced Thursday the reduction of its investment forecasts in its American activities, mainly in shale oil and gas.
“They produce in a disciplined manner and this will continue, particularly in the current price context,” considers John Kilduff, despite the prospect of a Trump presidency favorable to an increase in volumes. “I don’t see them opening the floodgates,” added the analyst.
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