Investing.com – Crude prices were lower on Friday, as rising supply and weakening economic growth decreased investor demand.
West Texas for November slumped 1.37% to $59.84 a barrel as of 9:06 AM ET (14:06 GMT), down 20% from its 52 week high. Meanwhile futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., dipped 0.84% to $70.06.
Data on Wednesday showed that inventories in the U.S. continue to rise more than expected, leading to concerns of oversupply, despite sanctions against Iran.
U.S. crude inventories rose by barrels last week, compared with the general consensus of a 3.2 million-barrel increase, the EIA reported.
Traders were also concerned by waivers that the U.S. granted to eight countries on Monday that allowed them to continue buying Iranian crude despite U.S. sanctions. The sanction exemptions mean that oil supply will be higher than traders originally thought.
Prices had risen in anticipation of the sanctions, which went into effect in early November.
Investors are also looking ahead to the weekly U.S. oil rig count, which is a leading indicator of demand for oil products, which comes out later in the session.
In other energy trading, fell 1.33% to $1.6232 a gallon, while decreased 0.98% to $2.1475 a gallon. surged 3.19% to $3.655 per million British thermal units.
Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.
Source: Investing.com
