US oil rig count falls for the 28th consecutive week, but rigs added in two shale oil plays

Brent has climbed to $63.7 per barrel and WTI to above the $60 per barrel mark, notes Commerzbank. Growing concerns about national bankruptcy in Greece had driven oil prices down by as much as 2% on Friday. In actual fact, it makes no real difference to physical oil demand whether or not Greece is "rescued". This is not the case for investor demand, however, as investors have determined oil prices to a major extent in recent months. If a payment default or even a Grexit were to lead to gloomier sentiment, financial investors could withdraw, which would weigh on oil prices. 

After all, speculative net long positions are still at a comparatively high level despite having been reduced in recent weeks. According to the CFTC, WTI even saw net longs slightly increased by 2,400 to 239,000 contracts in the week to 16 June. The corresponding data for Brent is likely to released by the ICE at lunchtime today. According to data from Baker Hughes, the decline in the oil rig count in the US continued last week for the 28th consecutive week. 

Only four oil rigs were shut down on balance, however, and two oil rigs were even added - one in the Permian Basin and one in Bakken. Despite a decrease in drilling activity by more than half since the beginning of the year, US crude oil production had recently increased, and in early June had reached 9.6 million barrels per day, which is its highest level since 1972. The crude oil production is expected to decline in the coming months, which should help oil prices further recover, says Commerzbank.