Crude records weekly decline as demand woes blunt tanker attacks

Bloomberg

Oil posted a weekly decline as the escalating US-China trade war and swelling American stockpiles overshadowed tanker attacks in the Middle East.
Futures settled up 0.4 percent in New York but still closed the week down 2.7 percent. London-traded contracts slid for a fourth straight week.
The White House blamed Iran for tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, the biggest global choke-point for oil flows. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency said global supplies will swamp demand next year, further pressuring Opec.
US crude stockpiles climbed to their highest since July 2017 last week, sending futures to the lowest in almost five months. The accumulation of excess supply runs counter to seasonal trends and adds to anxiety over the demand implications of the US-China trade dispute, said Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management LLC in St. Louis.
“We’re seeing a back-up in inventory, but what’s really crippling the market are demand concerns,” O’Grady said. “There is a negative effect for the world economy from the trade tensions.”
The market’s muted reaction to the tanker attacks may be because “there’s no way” Iran could fully halt the flow of crude through the Strait of Hormuz, said Michael Hiley, head of over-the-counter energy trading at LPS Futures in New York.