Investing.com - This week’s comic touches on the recent decline in the oil market, which has taken prices back below the $40-level for the first time since April earlier this week, mainly due to concerns over a glut in oil supplies.
U.S. crude was at $40.50 a barrel during morning hours in New York on Thursday, close to four-month lows of $39.19 hit earlier this week.
U.S. oil futures are nearly 20% lower from their 2016 highs above $50 a barrel scaled in early June, technically placing it in bear market territory, as signs of an ongoing recovery in U.S. drilling activity combined with growing gasoline stocks weighed.
Meanwhile, Brent traded at $42.60, after falling to a more than three-month low of $41.51 on Tuesday.
London-traded Brent futures are down almost 21% since peaking at $52.80 in early June, as prospects of increased exports from Middle Eastern and North African producers, such as Iraq, Nigeria and Libya, added to concerns that a glut of oil products will cut demand for crude by refiners.
According to market experts, elevated stocks of fuel products amid slowing global demand growth is expected to keep prices under further pressure in the near-term.
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