ASX oil companies have recorded a mostly positive day and week so far, despite the price of Brent and West Texas crude oil only bouncing back slightly from its four-week decline.
The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is sitting at US $54.28 after recovering from last week's low of US $51.14. Brent crude is hovering around US $61.50, also bouncing back after last week dipping under the $60 mark. Both measures have been in a downward trajectory since mid-April (where WTI was over US $66 and Brent US $74.50) but have slightly bounced this week, probably on the back of news that ongoing tensions between the US and Iran are escalating in the Strait of Hormuz.
Let's take a look at what the big ASX oil companies have been doing this week.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)
The Beach share price has continued on the downward slope it tipped over after oil prices came off the boil in mid -April. Beach hit a 52-week high on April 23 of $2.27 but has since dropped off and ended trading today around $1.84. Beach is still a long way from its 52-week low of $1.28 and I expect it will find a floor sometime soon if the crude price doesn't depreciate any further.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)
The Woodside share price continues to trade in the $34-$38 band it has occupied for most of 2019 so far and ends trading today sitting around $35.90. The Woodside share price has risen slightly since opening on Monday, likely reflecting the uptick in crude prices this week has seen. Woodside's size makes it less volatile to the swings of the crude price than smaller players like Beach and I expect that bar any big movements in the crude price, the shares will continue to bounce around the $36 level for a while.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)
The Santos share price has been see-sawing around the $7 mark since February after recovering from the $5.20 levels we saw around Christmas. Santos shares hit a six-month high of $7.44 in Mid-April but by the start of June, the price had dropped to around $6.58. The share price has since recovered somewhat and Santos ends the day trading for $7.04 a share.
