Oil futures ended the week little changed as lingering concerns about the demand outlook in China and receding geopolitical risks offset economic data showing slower inflation and robust retail sales, pointing to resilience in consumer spending.

“It was “A volatile week for oil markets: On the one hand, concerns about supply disruptions caused by war in the Middle East, but on the other hand, slowing growth in China forced demand forecasts to be revised,” said energy consultant Andrew Lipow, Reuters reported.

In the Middle East, two days of talks aimed at a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip reportedly made progress. The talks are also aimed at delaying an expected Iranian attack on Israel, which has recently raised risks related to the price of oil.

“If the situation in the Middle East does not escalate further, Oil prices are likely to remain stable“- said Commerzbank analysts.

Data from China this week showed the country’s economy lost momentum in July, prompting refiners there to sharply cut crude processing rates last month due to sluggish demand for the fuel.

This week, OPEC and the International Energy Agency cited weakness in China as a reason for lowering their oil demand growth forecasts.

However, oil prices were supported by a series of data releases in the US for July, including a 2.9% year-on-year increase in the consumer price index and a 0.1% increase in the producer price index.

Nymex (CL1:COM) Crude Oil Monthly Delivery Closed for September -0.2% to $76.65/bbl this week, including a 1.9% loss on Friday, while October Brent crude (CO1:COM) ended the week broadly unchanged at $79.68/bbl, including a 1.7% decline on Friday.

This week also saw the end of Nymex’s (NG1:COM) monthly natural gas delivery for September -0.9% to $2.123/MMBtu, losing 3.3% on Friday.

ETFs: (USO), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (USOI), (UNG), (BOIL), (KOLD ), (UNL), (FCG)

Energy (NYSEARCA:XLE), represented by the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF fund, ended the week +1.2%.

Top 10 Energy & Natural Resources Gainers of the Last 5 Days: Skeena Resources (SKE) +46.7%Perpetual Assets (PPTA) +43.4%Fuel of the Future (FF) +30.5%Osisko Development (ODV) +27.4%PrimeEnergy (PNRG) +22.6%Collective Mining (CNL) +21.3%Iamgold (IAG) +18.7%New Gold (NGD) +17.9%Lithium Americas (LAC) +17.3%Orla Mining (ORLA) +17.2%.

Top 5 Energy & Natural Resources Gainers Over the Last 5 Days: Zeo Energy (ZEO) -17.6%Hawaiian Electric (HE) -13.7%Piedmont Lithium (PLL) -10.5%Compass Minerlas (CMP) -9.8%Verde Clean Fuels (VGAS) -9.7%.

Source: Barchart.com