Oil Posts Slim Weekly Loss in Sign of Fading Risk Premium
- Traders weigh weak China data and threat of Iran retaliation
- WTI futures tumble on Friday, erasing advance for the week
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Oil posted a marginal weekly decline, with traders continuing to weigh the impact of a slowdown in China against a possible attack by Iran or proxies on Israel.
West Texas Intermediate settled below $77 a barrel after rising earlier in the week. Oil prices have been choppy in the depths of summer trading, roiled by the tumult in wider markets, bumper swings in algorithmic positioning and geopolitical risk in the Middle East. The White House said Friday that talks about a potential Gaza cease-fire agreement have been “serious and constructive,” while government data showed that new-home construction in the US sank to a pandemic-era low.