New York-traded oil ended Friday at its lowest level since March 2009, amassing losses of more than 7% on the week. Crude-oil futures were mixed, with London-traded Brent settling higher. Investors parsed news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and marginal improvement in China’s manufacturing data. Light, sweet crude futures for March delivery retreated 72 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $45.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest finish since March 11, 2009. Prices had traded as high as $47.76 a barrel earlier. On the week, New York-traded oil lost 7.2%, down for 15 of the past 17 weeks. Brent crude for March delivery on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 27 cents, or 0.6%, to $48.79 a barrel. Brent traded as high as $49.80 a barrel. On the week, the commodity declined 2.8%.
The change of guard in Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter, is unlikely to change kingdom’s stance in oil markets. The new king has kept oil minister Ali Al-Naimi in power, and Saudi Arabia will continue to pursue the strategy of defending its own market share rather than help support oil prices, said Matt Smith, an analyst with Schneider Electric. Saudi Arabia’s king died at the age of around 90, according to a royal court statement early Friday morning. The statement also said that Abdullah’s half-brother, Crown Prince Salman, who is 79 years old, was declared king and Prince Muqrin, 69, became crown prince.
Earlier Friday, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a Saudi businessman and a nephew of King Abdullah, said on CNBC the world would never again see oil at $100 a barrel, reiterating remarks he had made earlier this month. “The price of oil will remain under pressure for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Meanwhile, the preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, a closely watched gauge of the country’s factory sector, rose to 49.8 in January, compared with a final reading of 49.6 in December, HSBC Holdings PLC said Friday.
“Although today’s PMI reading suggests that conditions in the manufacturing sector have held up better than expected, the economy still faces headwinds, particularly from the property sector,” Capital Economics said in a report.