It looks set to be another disappointing day of trade for Australian energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT), Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO), and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices came under pressure again overnight.
According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price and Brent crude oil price dropped over 5% at one stage last night before recovering slightly.
Brent crude oil's sizeable decline means that the global benchmark has now entered into bear-market territory after falling more than 20% from its April peak.
According to CNBC, oil prices tumbled to a seven-month low after an unexpected build up of U.S. crude supplies
U.S. government data revealed that crude stockpiles in the country rose by 2.4 million barrels last week, compared with the analyst consensus estimate of a decrease of 2.8 million barrels.
In addition to this, trader sentiment continues to weaken amid concerns that the escalation of U.S.-China trade tensions could hurt global economic growth and ultimately demand for crude oil.
Gene McGillian from Tradition Energy told the news outlet: "The market continues to trade lower on concerns about demand growth and the idea that economic growth can be impacted by the trade war. The market isn't concerned about anything other than how demand is going to play out through the rest of the year."
Gold price surges higher.
Oil prices may be crumbling, but the same cannot be said for the price of gold.
Overnight the precious metal continued its ascent with another strong gain. At the time of writing the spot gold price is up 2.3% to US$1,518 an ounce.
This could mean another positive day of trade for the likes of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS), and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG). All three climbed to 52-week highs on Wednesday and are likely to be pushing for new ones this morning.
