Oil prices are low and steadily declining.
Myra P. Saefong 7/22/24, assistant global markets editor, “Oil prices edge lower, holding ground at lowest since mid-June”, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-tick-lower-after-finishing-friday-at-5-week-low-c0ba635d?mod=myra-p-saefong, vivi!
Oil futures edged lower Monday, struggling to recover from a selloff last week that saw crude fall to their lowest since mid-June on concerns about the outlook for demand from China.
Price moves
West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery CL.1, -0.22% CLQ24, -0.22% fell 36 cents, or 0.5%, to $79.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ahead of the contract expiration at the end of the trading session. More actively traded September WTI CL00, -0.31% CLU24, -0.31% dropped 44 cents, or 0.6%, to $78.20 a barrel.
September Brent crude BRN00, -0.27% BRNU24, -0.27%, the global benchmark, was off 54 cents, or 0.7%, at $82.09 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
August gasoline RBQ24, 0.82% lost 0.7% to $2.4329 a gallon, while August heating oil HOQ24, 0.72% was little changed at $2.4206 a gallon.
Natural gas for August delivery NGQ24, 5.45% was at $2.229 per million British thermal units, up 4.8%.
Market drivers
Crude fell last week, as weak economic data out of China set the tone. China’s central bank unexpectedly cut a key policy rate to support the country’s ailing economy Monday, but the move failed to offer crude lasting support.
President Joe Biden on Sunday announced he would end his re-election bid, opening a scramble for the Democratic nomination. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Expectations for a November victory by Donald Trump have been cited as a positive for fossil fuels and the energy sector — though his calls to expand drilling, with U.S. production already at a record, could be a negative for crude prices.
Prices should “find a bottom here as the global market is tightening,” Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group, said in a daily note.
“In the short term, we’re starting to see some hesitation to move higher,” he said. “Until we get a clearer direction on which way the country is going to go, the market is looking at a Trump presidency as a potential negative to oil prices as he will allow increased oil and gas production.”