DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures See 4th Straight Weekly Drop, Hit Pre-War Levels
SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Crude futures fell for a fourth consecutive week Thursday as a continued acceleration in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz sent the market to pre-war levels.
NYMEX WTI for August delivery fell $0.92 to settle at $68.58 bbl after marking a low of $67.05 that virtually wiped out all of the war premium attained since this year's first joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran. For the week, WTI lost 1.1%, culminating in a four-week loss of more than 26%.
ICE Brent for August delivery slipped 0.5% on the week even as it rose 0.3% on the day, or $0.23, to settle at $71.80 bbl. Brent has lost 23% over the past four weeks.
Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for August delivery slid $0.0357 to settle at $3.1822 gallon while August RBOB retreated by $0.0279 to close at $2.9173.
The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.496 points to 100.66 against a basket of foreign currencies.
Crude futures fell as shipping data indicated that daily flows through the reopened Strait of Hormuz had expanded to above 10 million bpd. Prior to the Iran war, volume was at around 16 million bpd.
A major driver of the latest volume was the United Arab Emirates, which appeared to be back to near pre-war export levels of 3.9 million bpd, reports indicated.
Crude futures recovered from session lows after senior Iranian military official Major General Ali Abdollahi warned against any strikes at Iran as this country prepares for the six-day state funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei.
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