Market News

BY  Jake Lloyd-Smith and Alex Longley

(Bloomberg) -- Oil prices slipped as traders tracked moves in wider financial markets, while monitoring a storm that could affect some supplies in the Gulf of Mexico.

Global benchmark Brent crude traded near $71 a barrel after snapping a six-session losing streak on Monday. Equity markets are also struggling for direction, with key inflation data due later this week as well as reports from the main oil-forecasting agencies.

Tropical Storm Francine strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico, spurring drillers to evacuate crews as the system is now expected to hit Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday. On its expected track, Francine may rake nine major platforms.

Global benchmark Brent closed at the lowest since 2021 on Friday amid growing concerns about restrained demand in major economies and abundant supply. The market’s increasingly bearish tone spurred Wall Street banks to pare price forecasts for the coming quarters, while the OPEC+ cartel was forced to delay a planned restart of some of its shuttered output from October.

“The tone of the oil market remains downbeat,” said Norbert Ruecker, an analyst at Julius Baer. “The fundamental headwinds should persist. Demand is partially stagnant, production grows in the Americas, and the oil market likely heads into surplus supplies next year.”

At the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore this week, most speakers have been cautious about the market outlook. Among them, Ben Luckock, head of oil at Trafigura Group, one of the world’s top traders, warned that Brent was probably going to slip into the $60s “relatively soon.”

--With assistance from Yongchang Chin.