Oil: WTI crude is seeing 'longest losing streak since March of 2020'

Yahoo Finance markets reporter Ines Ferre breaks down crude oil trends dating back to the beginning of the pandemic.

Video transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Welcome back. Time for our oil segment. And Ines Ferre standing by. I know, Ines, oil is going to close here in about a minute or two, but so far, gasoline, we're not really getting a lot of relief here at the pump. Gas is at a seven-year high right now, at least gas futures.

INES FERRE: Yeah, that's right. We are not getting relief at the pump right now, despite the oil sliding that you've seen today with prices. Take a look at WTI, down more than 3 and 1/2%, closing out its fourth straight week of declines. This is the longest losing streak since March of 2020. Also Brent crude on its fourth straight week of decline, falling, really, to a six-week low, these prices.

And this all has to do also with Austria's nationwide lockdown. That has traders concerned about demand, basically, with this uptick in COVID cases that Europe is seeing and demand going forward. This week also, I should mention, that China said that it's working on releasing some of its strategic reserves. If more oil consuming countries do this, this could also have an impact on oil, according to traders.

And also a forecast from the EIA this week, saying that Brent will fall to an average of $72 a barrel in 2022. But as you mentioned, Alexis, don't expect relief at the pump anytime soon. That seven-year-high for the national average for gasoline is at $3.41, Alexis.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, Ines Ferre, thanks so much for that.