Crude Rises Last Week, Beryl Being Watched Closely

Oil prices were lower on Friday but ended the week up over 2% on more positive supply/demand fundamentals and concerns over the hurricane season. The largest EIA reported drop in US crude inventories for almost a year was recorded for the last week of June and gasoline use rose.

• WTI fell 0.5% to $83.44/bbl but rose 2.3% last week. It reached a peak of $84.52 in later US trading before falling to $83.07. The benchmark has started today slightly lower at $83.10. Initial resistance is at $84.38 and the bull trigger at $85.27 with support at $79.37.
• Brent was down 0.7% to $86.86/bbl on Friday but up 2.2% on the week. It rose to a high of $87.95 before falling to $86.49. The trend condition remains bullish with a sequence of higher highs and higher lows. Initial resistance is at $88.04 and the bull trigger at $89.32. Initial support is at $83.47, 50-day EMA.
• Tropical Storm Beryl is forecast to make the Texan coast today, possibly impacting coastal refining and shipping facilities. Exxon Mobil only sees a small impact on its output from Beryl. Shell’s Perdido platform was in the path of the storm and was shutdown and evacuated by July 4. Shell has 20.9kbd in US offshore waters.
• Hedge fund net longs in Brent were their highest in 7 weeks, according to Intercontinental Exchange.
• Bloomberg reported that shipped crude from Saudi Arabia fell in June and the producer reduced prices for flows to Asia for the second straight month, signaling that demand in the region is soft.