Oil prices head for fourth straight week of declines as supply grows

 
INA-Sources
Oil prices were little changed on Friday but on track for their fourth straight week of losses after tumbling about 5% to a four month-low on Thursday on worries over global demand.
 
Brent futures edged up 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.49 a barrel at 0702 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was at $72.96, up 6 cents, or 0.1%. Both have lost around a sixth of their value over the last four weeks.
 
Oil prices are down slightly this year despite demand exceeding our optimistic expectations," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
 
"Non-core OPEC supply has been much stronger than expected, partly offset by OPEC cuts."
 
Prompt monthly spreads for both contracts have flipped to contango, a market trend where prompt prices are lower than those in future months indicating healthy supply. ,
 
Oil's decline this week was mainly triggered by a steep rise in U.S. crude inventories and production sustaining at record levels, which analysts say triggered concerns of weak demand in the world's largest oil consumer amid high output.
 
 
Source: Reuters