Business - Market Data
Updated: August 06, 2021

Oil Set For Largest Weekly Drop Since March

By Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe
August 06, 2021
0

Oil prices rose on Friday but were set for the biggest weekly decline since March as travel restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus delta variant are raising concerns about the demand for fuel.

Brent crude was up 0.56 percent as of report time to $71.76, while U.S. oil, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $69.44, up 0.51 percent in the last 24 hours. Both benchmarks have lost up to 6 percent this week, the highest since March.

Daily new COVID-19 cases in the United States, the largest consumer of crude oil, have climbed to a six-month high. Japan is poised to expand emergency restrictions to more prefectures while China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, has imposed curbs in some cities and cancelled flights.

Investors' attention is now on the U.S employment data which is due to be released today in the form of the Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) at the start of the New York trading session.