Doha: Oil prices fell on Friday as skepticism crept into the market about the Trump administration’s commitment to sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies over the war in Ukraine.
Brent crude futures settled at $65.94 while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $61.50. For the week, Brent rose by 7.6% and WTI fell by 6.9%, noted Al-Attiyah Foundation in its Weekly Energy Market Review.
The sanctions prompted Chinese state oil majors to suspend Russian oil purchases in the short term. Refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, were set to sharply cut Russian crude imports.
Kuwait’s oil minister said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would be ready to offset any shortage in the market by raising production.
Meanwhile, investors are focusing on a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week to defuse long-standing trade tensions.
Asian spot liquefied natural gas prices were little changed last week as high inventories and softer demand offset regional cold snaps and the risk of further sanctions on Russian
LNG.
The average LNG price for December delivery into north-east Asia was $11.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up from $11.10 per mmBtu last week, industry sources
estimated.
In Japan, stronger heating demand is expected later this month as temperatures are forecast to fall below seasonal averages, but this is yet to translate into additional spot demand.
In Europe, the Dutch TTF price settled at $10.87 per mmBtu, recording a weekly drop of 0.2%.
Gas prices on Friday gave up gains from the previous session - which were driven by concerns over the impact of sanctions on Russian energy supply.
