U.S. oil and gas stocks were generally down at the start of trading on Thursday, August 19, with EQNR.US down 3.5% at $20.13, TotalEnergies SE (TTE.US) down 2.05% at $42.59, BP P.L.C. (BP.US) down 2.18% at $23.82 and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.US) down 1.95% at $53.33. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) fell 1.76% to $38.54.
On the face of the news, oil prices fell for six consecutive days, Brent crude oil futures and WTI crude oil fell more than 2%.