London, July 19, 2024 – Oil slipped on Friday and was set for its second straight weekly loss, as a strong dollar and concern over the economy of top oil importer China offset a tighter supply outlook.
The U.S. dollar index climbed after stronger-than-expected data on the U.S. labour market and manufacturing earlier in the week. A stronger U.S. currency dampens demand for dollar-denominated oil from buyers holding other currencies.
Brent crude prices fell by 83 cents, or 1%, to $84.28 a barrel by 1330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 63 cents, or 0.8%, to $82.19.
A lack of concrete stimulus measures from top oil importer China has also weighed on commodities, ANZ analysts wrote.
Chinese officials acknowledged on Friday the sweeping list of economic goals re-emphasised at the end of a key Communist Party meeting this week contained “many complex contradictions”, pointing to a bumpy road ahead for policy implementation.
China’s economy grew by a slower-than-expected 4.7% in the second quarter, official data showed, sparking concerns over its demand for oil.
A global tech outage on Friday disrupted operations in multiple industries, with airlines halting flights, some broadcasters going off-air and everything from banking to healthcare hit by system problems.
LSEG Group’s data and services were back up and running on Friday after an outage caused some disruption across financial markets earlier in the day. Reuters provides news for LSEG’s Workspace platform.
Meanwhile, two large oil tanker were on fire after colliding in waters near Singapore, the world’s biggest refuelling port, with two crew members airlifted to hospital and others rescued from life rafts, authorities and one of the companies said. (Reuters)
