WTI, Brent Post Settlement Increases on Friday

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U.S. oil futures settled higher on Friday as investors remained concerned about oil inventories, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September West Texas Intermediate crude added 46 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $41.60 a barrel. For the week, prices were down 5.9% and saw a monthly loss of 13.9%. The U.S. oil benchmark is now down nearly 19% from its recent high of $51.23 a barrel in June.

On London’s ICE Futures Exchange, September Brent crude fell 24 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $42.46 a barrel. The contract expired at the settlement and October Brent crude tacked on 30 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $43.53 a barrel. For the month, Brent crude lost more than 12%.

“The current supply/demand structure for oil warrants a price bandwidth of $50 to $60,” said Nico Pantelis, head of research at Secular Investor. “But when a price doubles in a quarter, it’s normal to have a setback in the following months—that’s what we got this month.” WTI prices fell to lows near $26 in February, but touched highs above $51 in June.

“We think most of the correction is over now, and expect to rise of oil to continue in the weeks and months ahead towards to $50-to-$60 bandwidth,” said Pantelis.

Meanwhile, September natural gas added less than half a cent to settle at $2.876 per million British thermal units. For the month, natural gas futures saw a loss of 1.6% despite an 8% jump on Thursday.