Crude oil prices declined sharply during the week ending Oct. 30 as European countries started to announce national lockdowns, further increasing the concerns for the oil demand and a short-term economic recovery.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $37.99 at 1302 GMT on Friday, posting a 7.72% decrease from Monday when traded at 0633 GMT registered at $41.17 per barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $35.84 at the same time on Friday relative to $38.94 a barrel on Monday.
After ending the previous week steady in the range between $42 and $43 per barrel, the oil prices saw sharp declines due to lingering concerns over global demand and economic recovery as major economies in Europe renewed lockdowns due to the surge in coronavirus cases.
France and Germany have declared national lockdowns, and some other countries, including Italy and Spain, have imposed tight restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Supply glut concerns contribute to the general negative outlook as Libya's oil production is set to grow more after the lifting of a force majeure in the country's oil facilities and ports.
Excluded from the current output cut deal of OPEC+, Libya is now producing around 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) and expects total oil production to reach 800,000 bpd within two weeks and 1 million bpd within four weeks.
Prices were further pushed as the OPEC+ oil production cut deal will end in December and the group will raise its production by 2 million barrels per day in January.
The OPEC+ group, which has curbed output since January 2017 to support prices, is now reducing production by 7.7 million b/d, down from cuts totaling 9.7 million b/d imposed from May 1 to Aug. 1.
A more-than-expected build-up in US crude inventories also fuelled the price declines intensifying investor concerns over demand recovery.
Commercial crude oil inventories in the US increased by 4.3 million barrels, or 0.9%, for the week ending Oct. 23, according to data released by the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. The market expectation was a 1.2 million-barrel rise.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr