Oil Sees Little Change still set for highest weekly gain since 2009

The trade on Friday in the Oil market saw no significant movers with the prices remaining characteristically choppy. It alternated between continued and persistent over supply, negative fundamentals, and cushioned support from the weekly decline for the sixth time in the counts of Oil Rigs.

US crude, known as CLc1, ended the week at $49.63 which was a 20 cent increase to the price seen in late July. Brent crude on the other hand ended the day on Friday at $52.65 which was 40 cents down.

Despite Friday’s slump, the WTI benchmark and North Sea Crude have gained around 9 percent this week alone, capping the biggest weekly change in 6 weeks. US energy firms cut oil rig counts for the sixth time in as many weeks highlighting the longest decline since the month of June, according to the data released on Friday.

According to market experts, this was a clear sign that low prices were keeping drillers away from the well pads. The count of oil rigs removed during the week stood at 605 at the end of the week on Friday, October 9. Despite that, a number of analysts are of the opinion that despite the recent fall, it might not be able to rein in the bears of Oil.

An owner of Illinois based oil associates said that they were looking for a decrease of more than 10 to 15 rigs in the report that came out on Friday to be able to keep the short term bull move of the oil markets alive.

Another oil broker who also specializes in commodities believes that the oil market was going through a re-pricing that was pitting US crude as the higher commodity in oils versus other crudes in the Atlantic Basin out of fear. He did think that dismissing it as fear may not be the best way as time will show whether it was fear or reality.

In the earlier sessions, the mood was more bullish with the developments in the US Central bank encouraging the players. According to the minutes of the meeting that took place on Thursday, more policy makers than expected had agreed to keep a hold on the first interest hike in a decade.

This has been largely due to the continued thumping of Oil by the Saudis to drive competing oil prices down and to bring the Shale oil industry in the US to a halt. Many thought that the change in leadership at the helm of Saudi Affairs would change things, yet the Kingdom has continued to embark on this strategy of defending its share in the market.