[9] With worldwide demand continuing to decline due to COVID-19, oil fell for a fifth straight week at the end of March and any actions taken by Saudi Arabia or Russia would be inconsequential.
[17] For the week ending June 19, WTI climbed nearly 10 percent to $39.75 as OPEC made sure countries were complying with goals for output decreases.
[20] That same day, OPEC and others said they planned to decrease production cuts in August but FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga said it might not be the time for that given the chances of more COVID-19 related lockdowns or problems with the world economy.
Production cuts took effect on August 1 but U.S. president Trump signed executive orders which added to tensions with China and helped drive prices down.
[23] Low demand for oil in the U.S., lower U.S. unemployment, a strong U.S. dollar and losses in the stock market contributed to WTI falling nearly 4 percent on September 4 to $39.77, the first time below $40 since July.
[24] Bad news about U.S. unemployment, a strong dollar, lower expected demand, and higher U.S. crude supplies contributed to the second down week for WTI, which fell 6.1 percent to $37.33.
[29] Restrictions in Europe due to COVID-19 and expected delays for production cuts by OPEC and allies caused oil to rise November 2 for the first time in four trading days.
COVID-19 vaccines were a big reason for positive economic news, though analyst Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank believed optimism was too high.
The Texas situation resulted in contango for WTI for the first time in seven months, meaning futures with earlier dates had lower prices.
[42] On March 24, after a significant decline the previous day due to COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe, the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction caused prices to recover.
[44] Oil reached its highest level since March 17 on April 14, with WTI at $63.15 and Brent at $66.58 as U.S. crude inventories fell and OPEC forecast higher demand and more economic growth.
[46] A positive demand forecast for China and the United States, along with lower U.S. crude inventories, led to the highest settlement for WTI since March, at $66.08, and Brent, at $69.32.
[56] On August 9, oil fell more than 2 percent, continuing losses from the previous week, as COVID-19 restrictions in China and other parts of Asia threatened to slow demand.
Fuel demand in the U.S. was the highest since before the pandemic, U.S. crude inventories were the lowest since January 2020, and China reported fewer new COVID-19 cases.
Losses due to negative economic news related to the Delta variant were cancelled out by Hurricane Ida stopping Gulf of Mexico oil production.
Also contributing to an up week was a telephone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a sign expected to mean more trade.
[64] On October 21, one day after gains resulting from a report of low U.S. inventories, especially at Cushing, Oklahoma, oil fell significantly due to a forecast of a warmer than normal U.S. winter.
[76] On January 18, WTI reached $85.43 and Brent hit $87.51, both the highest since October 2014, after Houthi attacks on the United Arab Emirates.
This came after UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazroui said OPEC would continue with its previous agreement rather than significantly increasing production.
U.S. rigs were up for the third week, and lockdowns in China continued, while the United States Congress voted to ban Russian oil.
[110] Then OPEC and other countries agreed to a production increase, but U.S. crude inventories fell, so WTI finished June 2 higher at $116.87, with Brent at $117.61.
After both fell below the last closing before the Ukraine War, both were up 2 percent on July 15 due to doubts Saudi Arabia or even OPEC could increase production.
[117] On July 22 WTI ended below $95 for the first time since April in its third down week, with concerns over more interest rate increases and resumed production in Libya.
Both rose about 4 percent on September 9 due to concerns that Russia would stop selling oil to Europe if price caps were imposed as well as OPEC and others announcing a small decrease in output.
[125] A strong dollar and the prospect of future interest rate increases caused oil to fall nearly 2 percent the next week, with Brent finishing at $91.35 and WTI at $85.11.
Other factors included the dollar reaching the highest in 20 years, slower growth because of recession concerns and predictions that OPEC and others would reduce output.
[130] After OPEC and other nations agreed to lower their output target by 2 million barrels per day, the most since 2020, oil reached its highest level in more than a month.
[136] The next week oil fell due to higher U.S. inventories, but lower U.S. inflation and a weak dollar limited losses.
Recession fears cancelled gains from expected production cuts by Russia and caused WTI to fall to $71.02 and Brent to reach $76.10.
Plans for the U.S. to buy oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve also helped prices rise, with WTI up for the week to $74.29.