Oil prices were recovering slightly after four consecutive weeks of losses pushed both Brent and WTI to their lowest levels since July, OilPrice reported.

Oil prices declined to their lowest level since July this week, with WTI falling to $73 per barrel on its way toward a fourth consecutive weekly loss. With a combination of weak economic data from the US where the labor market seems to finally be cooling off and CTA trading patterns that aggravated the downward spiral, WTI has shed its previous levels of steep backwardation and is now in contango in the prompt months. Despite the negative sentiment, oil prices did begin to bounce back slightly, with Brent rising to $78.50 and WTI trading at $73.86. 

US promises to bring down Iran exports. The US President’s energy adviser Amos Hochstein vowed to enforce tighter sanctions on Iran as the Middle Eastern country’s exports have soared above the 1 million b/d mark this year, rejecting the notion that the Biden Administration relaxed its sanctions.  

US oil major Chevronis reportedly evaluating options for some of its 70,000 net acres of Haynesville shale acreage in East Texas, with a full sale remaining a possible option, a first step in the firm’s $15 billion divestment program on the back of the Hess deal. 

ExxonMobil to double down on Indonesia. According to Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, US oil major is set to invest up to $15 billion in a petrochemical plant and a carbon capture and storage project in Indonesia, targeting two underground basins in the Java Sea.

/OilPrice/