Last week, world oil prices increased and decreased in opposite directions.

World oil prices experienced a mixed week of ups and downs. Photo: MXV

At the end of the trading session on the first day of the week, May 19, cautious sentiment covered the energy market as conflicting information about demand and supply continuously appeared.

Closing, Brent oil price recorded an increase of 0.2%, reaching 65.54 USD/barrel. Meanwhile, WTI oil price stopped at 62.69 USD/barrel, equivalent to an increase of 0.32%.

The rise in oil prices was mainly supported by fresh disagreements between the US and Iran over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

On the other hand, information about the US government 's credit rating and the manufacturing situation in China put pressure on oil prices in the first session of the week, while restraining the increase during the rest of the session.

Moody's has downgraded the US credit rating from its highest level Aaa to Aa1 due to concerns about the public debt, a move that could significantly affect the tax cut program being considered by the US Congress .

In addition, newly released data from China's National Bureau of Statistics shows that the country's industrial output growth in April was only 6.1% compared to the same period last year, a sharp decrease compared to 7.7% in March, raising concerns about the "health" of the world's second largest economy.

Until the trading session on May 21, the energy price board was in red as selling pressure increased sharply, two crude oil products decreased for the third consecutive session. Specifically, Brent oil price decreased 0.72% to 64.44 USD/barrel, while WTI oil also weakened 0.6% to 61.2 USD/barrel.

According to MXV, world crude oil prices continued to decline amid growing concerns about the prospect of a supply glut.

According to experts, there is a high possibility that OPEC+ will increase oil production to the market, possibly returning to 2.2 million barrels/day by November this year, offsetting the cuts last year. This has made investors even more worried about the future supply surplus.

In the US, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) both reported a weekly increase in US commercial crude oil inventories, by about 1.3 million barrels.

Along with the news that gasoline inventories in the US also increased last week, the market is concerned that oil demand will not be able to keep up with the increase in supply and cause a supply-demand gap, thereby putting further pressure on oil prices.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/tuan-qua-gia-dau-the-gioi-tang-giam-trai-chieu-703355.html