The price for a barrel of the US variety West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 1.0 percent to $78.31.
The weekly balance on the oil market is negative. Prices have fallen by around five dollars since Monday. Market observers spoke of the worst weekly loss since February. On Thursday, the prices for Brent crude oil from the North Sea and for US crude oil fell to their lowest level since March.
“The political developments in the Near and Middle East will probably determine further trends in the short term,” said Commerzbank experts. “However, fundamentals should prevent further sharp price declines should China’s crude oil imports actually continue to recover.”
Gold prices also fell
Gold prices also fell. The troy ounce (31.10 grams) of gold was last traded in London at $2,292.44, which corresponds to a discount of 0.5 percent.
