Crude oil price slumps for a fourth straight week as concerns over demand growth persist

Oil declined near $70 per barrel, owing to the persistent concerns about demand growth. This marks fourth straight week of loss. Brent crude futures fell 43 cents or 0.6% to $73.74 a barrel by 0130 GMT. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $69.67 a barrel, down 37 cents, or 0.5%.

West Texas Intermediate crude was expected to change its losing streak. This after, signs of Iraqi oil exports likely won't resume on Saturday and the U.S signaling that it would buy crude to restock the strategic reserve after next month. However, a strong dollar wiped out those gains as it made oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Over the past month Crude has declined by about 15% as the markets are gripped by Bearish sentiments. Citigroup on Friday, reduced the forecast for Brent crude from $84 a barrel to about $82 a barrel. As per Bloomberg, over the week, oil has been pressured by the physical market showing signs of weakness amid poor refining margins and lackluster buying in some areas. The world’s two biggest economies demonstrated further evidence of cooling, with US jobless claims rising and China’s recovery waning. Money managers have piled into bearish bets in Brent, sending net longs to the lowest since December.