Oil futures lost ground early Friday, but the U.S. benchmark remains on track for a 10% weekly advance as Hurricane Delta nears landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast and a strike curtails a large chunk of Norway’s crude output.
Oil has enjoyed a week of impressive gains, but the rise has “not been caused by factors that are here to stay,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy, in emailed commentary.
“Hurricanes that curb production in the U.S. will subside and output will rise again,” he said. “The same applies with strikes in Norway,” so both market events, in a way, are “artificial.”
