Oil Stocks Slammed by Crude Price Drop; Solar Stocks Shine
2022.06.17 21:11
By Liz Moyer
Investing.com — Oil stocks got slammed on Friday as the price of oil fell below $110 a barrel.
Crude oil fell 7% on Friday, and was down around 9% for the week. The sector is being weighed down by a growing fear that the U.S. is headed for a recession from the triple whammy of weakening macroeconomic data, persistent inflation, and an aggressive tightening plan by the Federal Reserve.
Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) fell 5.6%, while Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) fell 5.9% and Shell PLC ADR (NYSE:SHEL) fell 4.9%. The Biden administration has urged major oil refiners to ramp up their activity to produce more product such as gasoline, which has soared above $5 a gallon at the retail level. This persistently high gasoline price is pinching household budgets, and high prices for diesel fuel is making operations more expensive for businesses, farms and construction companies.
Shares of Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG) fell 9.4%, while Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) was down 9.7% and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) was down 7.7%.
As much as the Biden administration wants oil producers to up their production to ease prices, the longer-term goal is to move the U.S. economy toward renewable energy, a trend that is lifting shares of solar power companies on Friday. First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares are up 7.6%, while SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) is up 10.8% and SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) is up 8.6%.
