Sixth Consecutive Weekly Price Gain For Crude As U.S. Covid Vaccinations Loom

Meanwhile, research shows a huge drop in greenhouse gas emissions due to lockdowns: File Image/PixaBay

Although Covid vaccinations in New York begin this weekend, new restrictions imposed on businesses in that state rekindled worry among crude traders about the impact on demand, and as a result oil prices on Friday pulled back slightly - but still achieved a weekly gain of almost 2 percent.

Brent declined 20 cents to $50.05 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 12 cents to $46.66; for the week, Brent was up almost 2 percent and WTI was up less than 1 percent, putting both benchmarks on track for a sixth consecutive week of gains for the first time since June.

Bob Yawger, director of energy futures for Mizuho, noted that "Restrictions in New York are weighing on prices"; however, optimism in trading circles remained strong and was bolstered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endorsing emergency use of Pfizer's Covid vaccine, 170,000 doses of which will be used in New York by Sunday or Monday.

The advent of the vaccines was also said to be responsible on Friday for the NSE Nifty 50 index and Sensex hitting record peaks as Oil and Natural Gas Corp surged on the back of higher crude prices.

Rusmik Oza, head of fundamental research at Kotak Securities, remarked, "India is somewhat standing out among emerging markets because of the way the economy has bounced back even with meagre stimulus, showing that demand has normalized in the system."

Meanwhile, the latest oil company acquisition during these embattled times was announced on Friday with Equinor agreeing to buy a 49 percent interest in Russian onshore petroleum assets from Rosneft for $550 million.

The payment is for a stake in LLC KrasGeoNaC, which holds 12 conventional onshore exploration and production licences in eastern Siberia.

Finally, while the vaccines signal an eventual end to the pandemic, new research from the University of East Anglia, the University of Exeter, and the Global Carbon Project shows that global greenhouse gas emissions plunged by roughly 2.4 billion tons this year, a 7 percent drop from 2019 and the largest decline on record, triggered by worldwide Covid-19 restrictions.

The researchers said carbon emissions will likely rebound in 2021.