* Oil heads for weekly loss as U.S. crude stockpiles swell
* Texas governor orders bars to close statewide
* U.S. producers set to revive output -survey
* U.S., Canadian rigs cut to record low again -Baker Hughes
(Updates headline)
By Laura Sanicola
NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on
Friday as new coronavirus cases spiked in the United States and
China, and on growing concerns about rising U.S. output ticking
up while crude stockpiles sat at record highs.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures settled down 3 cents at $40.91,
falling 1% on the week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
CLc1 futures fell 23 cents to $38.49, down 1.6% on the week.
Earlier gains, supported by optimism over rising road
traffic boosting fuel demand, were erased in U.S. trading on
fears that spiking COVID-19 infections in large
gasoline-consuming U.S. states could stall the demand recovery.
Cases have risen sharply in California, Texas and Florida, the
three most populous U.S. states. Friday morning, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reversed the
state's reopening plan, ordering most bars to close due to the
surge in cases. That could undermine the steady increase in refining output,
with U.S. refiners now operating at nearly 75% of their
capacity, according to government data.
"Employers are delaying the return of their employees back
to the office and that will impact the return of gasoline
demand," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
The global economic outlook has also worsened or at best
stayed about the same in the past month, a majority of
economists polled by Reuters said, and the recession under way
is expected to be deeper than earlier predicted. A Dallas Federal Reserve Bank survey of executives in the
top U.S. oil and gas producing region found more than half of
executives who cut production expect to resume some output by
the end of July. U.S. and Canadian energy firms cut the number of oil and
natural gas rigs operating to a record low again this week,
according to data from Baker Hughes.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GRAPHIC: April gasoline demand https://tmsnrt.rs/3dDRTDi
CHART: U.S. oil may bounce more to $39.91 Brent oil may bounce more to $42.30 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>