Oil falls for fourth week; U.S. crude posts steepest weekly loss since 1991 - Reuters

Oil falls for fourth week; U.S. crude posts steepest weekly loss since 1991 - Reuters:

U.S. crude tumbled 10.7% on Friday and posted its biggest weekly decline since the 1991 Gulf War as the coronavirus epidemic dried up global demand and as officials in Washington said an envoy would head to Saudi Arabia to deal with fallout of a Saudi-Russia oil price war.

The week featured four days of massive selling as the growing pandemic kept people from driving and booking flights. Major forecasters like trading giant Vitol and energy researcher IHS Markit said oil demand could drop by as much as 10%. Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday after days of selling, but the rally did not last.

U.S. crude prices notched a weekly loss of 29%, the steepest since the outset of the U.S./Iraq Gulf War in 1991. Brent crude dropped by 20%. Both benchmarks have dropped for four straight weeks.

On Friday, Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell $1.49, or 5.2%, to settle at $26.98 a barrel. U.S. crude futures for April CLc1 fell $2.69, or 10.7%, to settle at $22.53 a barrel. The front-month contract expires on Friday. The more active U.S. crude contract for May CLc2 settled down $3.28, or 12.7%, at $22.63.