RUS | ENG | All
Enter the email or login, that you used for registration.
If you do not remember your password, simply leave this field blank and you will receive a new, along with a link to activate.

Not registered yet?
Welcome!

2018-04-20 09:20:00

OIL STOCKS & PRICES UP

OIL STOCKS & PRICES UP

FT Oil prices hit their highest level since 2014 on Thursday, moving above $74 a barrel and lifting energy companies to the top of global stock indices.

Production cuts by Opec and Russia over the past 16 months have helped crude prices rally, with the latest increase also tracking rising geopolitical risks to supplies, from Venezuela's economic spiral to the risk of the US reimposing sanctions on Iran.

Brent crude touched its highest level since 2014 on Thursday, taking the international marker's year-to-date gain to almost 8 per cent. At the time the production curbs were approved, Brent was trading around $55 a barrel.

Opec's ministerial committee on Friday is to meet large crude producers from outside the cartel led by Russia to assess the effect so far of their 1.8m barrels a day supply curbs.

While prices have rallied and global inventories have fallen, Opec is still seen as increasingly likely to maintain the cuts into 2019. Saudi Arabia, the cartel's largest producer and de facto leader, has given little indication it wants to reduce the cuts, even as prices hit new heights.

Brent crude rose as much as 1.3 per cent to $74.72. At the time the production curbs were approved in January 2017, Brent was trading at about $55 a barrel.

"We are rapidly transitioning from a market drowning in oil to a new reality of undersupply and low storage levels," said Richard Robinson, manager of the Ashburton Global Energy Fund.

"At the same time, the market is facing heightened risk to current supply — as a result of the lack of spend and increasing political volatility in oil-producing nations — such as Venezuela, Angola and Iran. The seed is being sown for a structurally higher oil price, combined with heightened probability of risk premium," he added.

Fears about the impact on global growth of the US-China trade dispute eased as the two countries held back from a further escalation this week, while confirmation of high-level talks between Washington and North Korea also brightened the geopolitical backdrop.

In the US, the rebound for crude has brought investors back to resource stocks in April, after a moribund showing for the sector for the rest of 2018. The energy component of the S&P 500 was up 9 per cent over the month to date, outperforming a rise of about 2.6 per cent for the wider S&P 600.

The trading pattern was also helped by a drop of 1.1m barrels in US inventories, according to data released on Wednesday.

Oil-linked currencies also stood out, making notable gains over the month to date on global markets. The Australian and Canadian dollars gained by about 2 per cent against their US equivalent. Norway's krone was up 0.6 per cent over the same period against the euro.

-----

Earlier:

 Prices
2018, April, 18, 13:14:00

OIL PRICE: ABOVE $72 AGAIN

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $72.07 per barrel at 0659 GMT, up 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $67.01 a barrel.

 

 Prices
2018, April, 18, 13:12:00

RUSSIA - OPEC DIMENSION

PLATTS - Russia is committed to its OPEC pact with Saudi Arabia and will continue supplying Europe energy despite tensions with the West after US-led strikes on Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, said Vladimir Putin's spokesman.

 

 Prices
2018, April, 13, 18:05:00

OPEC - RUSSIA COOPERATION TO 2019

REUTERS - “There is growing confidence that the declaration of cooperation will be extended beyond 2018,” Barkindo told. “Russia will continue to play a leading role.”

 

 Prices
2018, April, 13, 17:55:00

HARD OIL MARKET

BLOOMBERG - OPEC said its oil output fell to the lowest in a year last month amid reduced supplies from Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, suggesting global markets may tighten sharply later this year.

 

 Prices
2018, April, 11, 13:35:00

RUSSIA - OPEC UNLIMITED

PLATTS - Maintaining a long-term oil management alliance with Russia and other allies will allow OPEC producers to react more quickly to changing fundamentals and stabilize the market,

 

 Prices
2018, April, 11, 13:30:00

INDIA WANTS $50

BLOOMBERG - “We are a very price-sensitive consumer,’’ Pradhan said on Tuesday. “From Indian consumers’ point of view, I will be more than happy if the price is around $50 a barrel.’’

 

 Prices
2018, April, 11, 13:25:00

OIL PRICE 2018-19: $63

EIA - Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $66 per barrel (b) in March. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices will average about $63/b in both 2018 and 2019. EIA expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices to average $4/b lower than Brent prices in both 2018 and 2019. NYMEX WTI futures and options contract values for July 2018 delivery that traded during the five-day period ending April 5, 2018, suggest a range of $52/b to $78/b encompasses the market expectation for July 2018 WTI prices at the 95% confidence level.

Tags: OIL, PRICES, STOCKS