Oil Sees 1% Weekly Loss Despite 3-Day Rebound


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Oil futures closed up on Friday (12/19) but still fell 
about 1% on the week as oversupply concerns offset a three-day rebound that 
pulled prices back from 2021 lows hit earlier in the week.

   Crude and fuel futures clawed back some of the week's loss during a 
three-day short-covering rally, triggered by a U.S. naval blockade of Venezuela 
that halted oil exports from the OPEC member country. 

   However, the nearly 4% decline from Monday to Tuesday proved larger than the 
recovery. The rebound was limited by concerns about abundant global supply 
stirred by record U.S. oil production, OPEC additional output  and the millions 
of sanctioned Russian barrels on water that could become legitimate in the 
event of a peace deal for Ukraine.

   "You're not going to write away the global glut in oil even if you 
completely barricade Venezuelan production," John Kilduff, partner at New York 
energy hedge fund Again Capital, told DTN, noting that the Venezuela exports 
less than 1 million bpd.

   The NYMEX WTI crude for January delivery settled up $0.51, or 0.9%, at 
$56.66 bbl while showing a weekly loss of 1.4%. January WTI hit a 2021 low of 
$54.89 on Tuesday as concerns over a global oil glut grew with the U.S. 
appearing closer to its goal of reaching a solution to the Ukraine war that 
could lift sanctions on Russian oil. 

   ICE Brent futures for February settled up $0.65, or 1.1%, to $60.47 bbl, 
against a weekly drop of 1%. February Brent slid beneath the key $60 bbl mark 
three days earlier.

   NYMEX front-month gasoline closed up $0.0069, or 1%, at $1.7082 gallon, 
while showing a 2.5% weekly decrease. It dropped beneath the  $1.60 mark l 
earlier in the week.

   Front-month ULSD bucked the higher trend, settling down $0.0097, or 0.5%, at 
$2.1316 gallon while showing a weekly slide of 3.4%.

    




(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.