Oil battered in ugly week as demand concerns, dollar spur slump
Oil extended a dramatic rout, declining for a sixth day to trade below $60 a barrel on concern about near-term demand and a rising dollar.
West Texas Intermediate in New York is on course for the biggest weekly loss since October as a slew of negative factors combined to drive a sudden selloff. Inflation concerns that lifted Treasury yields pushed the U.S. currency higher, just as signs emerged of softer demand in Asia. In addition, crude’s plunge may be linked to some unwinding of long positions by commodity trading advisors as daily moves of more than 3% can trigger funds to quickly unload.
Oil’s run of losses means that the world’s most important commodity has suffered from an abrupt reversal of fortunes, although prices remain more than 20% higher this year amid optimism about a recovery from the pandemic.
