The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is in the red today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy stock closed yesterday trading for $31.23. During the Tuesday lunch hour, shares are swapping hands for $31.16 apiece, down 0.2%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 1.1% at this same time.
Now, it's not just the Woodside share price underperforming the ASX 200. The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is also down 0.2%.
Investors look to be hitting the sell button following another overnight tumble in the global oil price.
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Woodside share price pressured as oil slides lower
The Brent crude oil price fell 4.6% overnight to US$75.37 per barrel, before edging slightly higher.
At the time of writing, Brent is trading for US$76.12 per barrel.
As recently as 26 December the oil price stood at US$81.07 per barrel, with that same barrel trading for US$96.55 back on 27 September. As you'd expect, this is throwing up some headwinds for the Woodside share price.
Oil and gas prices have been retreating over recent months amid record production out of the United States, the world's top producer, along with higher production from other non-OPEC+ nations.
Despite the extended output cuts from OPEC+, that's creating fears of a supply glut ahead in 2024 amid an expected slowdown in the growth rate of global oil consumption amid weakening economic conditions.
Last night's big retrace in the oil price that's pressuring the Woodside share price today looks to have been spurred by significant price reductions from Saudi Arabia for all its buyers in February.
And, as Bloomberg reports, oil traders are piling on the bearish bets, adding a total of some 61,000 short positions in Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude in the week to 2 January. That represents the second-biggest increase in short positions since 2017.
Still, with Brent crude down to US$76.12 per barrel, there could be some upside ahead in 2024 for both the oil price and the Woodside share price.
A recent Reuters survey of economists and analysts revealed consensus expectations that Brent crude will average US$82.56 per barrel in 2024. That's 8.5% above the current oil price.
