Oil and Gas Stock Roundup: Earnings Fueled a Volatile Week for Oil Stocks

Crude prices rallied this week on the growing anticipation that OPEC would extend its production reduction agreement through the end of 2018. That should help drain off more of the market's excess inventory, which should at least put a floor under oil prices. For the week, the U.S. oil benchmark, WTI, rose about 3% to more than $53 a barrel, finishing at the highest level in six months, while the global oil benchmark, Brent, increased nearly 4% and topped $60 a barrel for the first time in more than two years.

That said, while oil had a good week, the focus of investors was on third-quarter earnings. Several oil and gas stocks reported results this week, many of which drove big swings in their stock prices. The biggest, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, came from Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL), Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII) and Helix Energy Solutions (NYSE: HLX).

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Source: Fool.com