NEW YORK- Oil prices settled lower on Friday, as demand worries due to new coronavirus-related restrictions on business in New York overshadowed progress toward vaccination programs.
Brent futures settled down 28 cents, or 0.6 percent at $49.97 a barrel. The contract rose above $51 a barrel on Thursday to an early-March high.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 21 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $46.57, having risen almost 3 percent in the previous session.
“Restrictions in New York are weighing on prices,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures for Mizuho in New York. On Thursday, funds had placed net long bets as Brent topped $50 a barrel. “As we approach the close, the speculator community is reluctant to go home with a net long position,” he said.
Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered New York City restaurants to suspend indoor dining effective Monday, amid an uptick in cases.
For the week, Brent was up 1.5 percent and WTI was up less than 1 percent. That was the sixth consecutive week of gains for the first time since June.
Promising vaccine trials have helped lift some gloom over record increases in the number of coronavirus infections and deaths around the world, and Cuomo sounded a note of optimism, saying he expected 170,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to be in New York by Sunday or Monday.
Britain began inoculations this week and the United States could start vaccinations as early as the coming weekend, while Canada on Wednesday approved its first vaccine with initial shots due from next week.
