Oil prices drop 7% and commodity records worst session since September
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In its worst trading session since September, crude oil prices traded sharply lower Thursday, March 18th, in the 5th consecutive down session, hitting two-week lows due to a stronger dollar, a further increase in US fuel and commodity stocks and news about Covid-19. On the latter point, the impact comes mainly from suspended vaccination in some European countries.
WTI (West Texas International) futures contracts maturing in April closed down 7.1%, at US$60 a barrel, while Brent crude was down 6.9%, at US$63.28 a barrel.
Both contracts are heading for their lowest close since March 3rd. The 5-day losing streak is the longest for WTI since February 2020 and for Brent since September 2020.
“The latest developments, such as vaccination and the increase in US oil inventories, are weighing negatively on markets, but the long-term outlook for oil is still encouraging,” said analyst Tamas Varga of PVM Oil Associates.
On the other hand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday that it does not expect oil prices to enter a supercycle – a long bullish period well past long-term trends.
“The rhetoric of the oil supercycle is finally experiencing a reality check. The negative sentiment has been driven by doubts in Europe over AstraZeneca’s vaccine, and was compounded by the rise of nearly 2.4 million barrels in US oil stocks,” said Louise Dickinson, oil analyst at Rystad Energy.
US government data on Wednesday showed that inventories of the commodity in the country have risen for 4 straight weeks after severe cold weather in Texas and the central part of the country in February forced refineries to close.
The sharp dollar rise this session, reverting the move immediately after the US Federal Reserve contributed to the drop; the slowdown in some vaccine programs; and the prospects of additional virus control measures; also helped to lower projections of a rebound in fuel demand.
Source: Infomoney
Live Market IntelligenceBrazil — Live Market Board
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Brazil — Live Market Board
+0.01%
174,586.26
+0.01%
66,644.91
+0.53%
11,367.47
-0.73%
3,024,971
+0.53%
2,493.32
-0.60%
60,449.35
+0.30%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 174,586.26 | +0.01% | +21.85% | 174,576.80 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| SELIC | 14.00% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| PETR4 | 41.64 | -0.05% | +35.19% | 41.66 | 41.97 | 41.15 | 41,499,400 |
| VALE3 | 72.97 | +0.83% | +30.75% | 72.37 | 73.54 | 72.66 | 17,658,000 |
| ITUB4 | 38.60 | -1.03% | +4.57% | 39.00 | 39.34 | 38.39 | 29,487,800 |
| BBDC4 | 16.85 | +0.36% | +3.50% | 16.79 | 16.90 | 16.67 | 19,416,900 |
| BBAS3 | 19.37 | +0.47% | +0.73% | 19.28 | 19.44 | 19.16 | 11,069,200 |
| B3SA3 | 14.26 | -0.21% | +12.73% | 14.29 | 14.47 | 14.11 | 33,037,800 |
| ABEV3 | 14.89 | -0.80% | +21.91% | 15.01 | 15.07 | 14.81 | 16,453,100 |
| WEGE3 | 47.59 | +0.49% | +29.99% | 47.36 | 48.08 | 47.36 | 3,364,600 |
| PRIO3 | 59.14 | -0.19% | +50.67% | 59.25 | 59.81 | 58.74 | 3,325,600 |
| SUZB3 | 41.33 | +2.35% | -23.55% | 40.38 | 41.48 | 40.35 | 3,914,900 |
| RENT3 | 34.68 | -0.09% | +0.84% | 34.71 | 34.96 | 34.35 | 7,979,100 |
| AZZA3 | 15.89 | -2.63% | -53.76% | 16.32 | 16.42 | 15.82 | 1,330,300 |
| CSNA3 | 4.30 | +0.47% | -42.65% | 4.28 | 4.41 | 4.26 | 10,076,100 |
| GGBR4 | 24.69 | +2.19% | +51.38% | 24.16 | 24.85 | 24.18 | 7,047,600 |
| ENEV3 | 24.21 | -1.38% | +70.49% | 24.55 | 24.64 | 23.99 | 9,297,000 |
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