Black Friday seems to have taken on a different meaning for oil bulls.
Crude prices plunged 5% on the ritualistic shopping day after Thanksgiving as Russia sent out mixed signals on its commitment to extend production cuts and a U.S.-China deal looked more complicated after President Donald Trump’s signing of two bills aimed at supporting Hong Kong protests against Beijing.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate and U.K. Brent crude fell unceremoniously from recent two-month highs as thinner holiday-like trading volumes exaggerated the selloff, creating a perfect storm for those long oil.
NYMEX-traded WTI settled down $2.94, or 5.1%, at $55.17 per barrel, well below the two-month high of $58.74 on Nov. 22.
ICE-traded Brent, the global benchmark for crude, slumped $2.55, or 4.%, to $60.72, after a two-month high of $64.60 on Wednesday.
For the week, WTI was down 4.1% while Brent fell 4.2%. For the month, the U.S. crude benchmark rose 1.8% versus the near-1% gain for its U.K. peer.
Source : Investing.com