OIL PRICE: NEAR $85 ANEW

REUTERS - Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after the IMF lowered its global growth forecasts but prices were supported as Hurricane Michael churned toward Florida, causing the shutdown of nearly 40 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude output.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures were down 2 cents at $84.98 a barrel by 0049 GMT, after a 1.3 percent gain on Tuesday.

US. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was down by 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $74.8 a barrel, after rising nearly 1 percent in the previous session.

The International Monetary Fund downgraded its global economic growth forecasts for 2018 and 2019 on Tuesday, potentially tempering demand for oil and its products.

Trade tensions and rising import tariffs were taking a toll on commerce, while emerging markets struggle with tighter financial conditions and capital outflows, the IMF said.

"Prices are peaking at the most opportunistic time given waning global growth narrative," said Stephen Innes, head of trading APAC at OANDA in Singapore.

In the United States, nearly 40 percent of daily crude oil production was lost from offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico wells on Tuesday because of platform evacuations and shut-ins ahead of Hurricane Michael.

Oil producers evacuated personnel from 75 platforms as the storm made its way through the central Gulf on the way to landfall on Wednesday on the Florida Panhandle.

The country's largest privately owned crude terminal, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port LLC, said late on Tuesday it had halted operations at its marine terminal.

The facility is the only U.S. port able to fully load and unload tankers with a capacity of 2 million barrels of oil.

Companies turned off daily production of about 670,800 barrels of oil and 726 million cubic feet of natural gas by midday on Tuesday, according to offshore regulator the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Iran's crude exports fell further in the first week of October, according to tanker data and an industry source, as buyers sought alternatives ahead of U.S. sanctions that take effect on Nov. 4.

Industry and government data on U.S. crude inventories will be delayed by one day this week because of Monday's U.S. Columbus Day holiday. The American Petroleum Institute is due to release data on Wednesday, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to publish on Thursday.

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Earlier: 

2018, October, 8, 11:25:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $83 REUTERS - International benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $83.26 per barrel at 0352 GMT, down 90 cents, or 1.1 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 54 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $73.80 a barrel.

2018, October, 8, 11:20:00 СТАБИЛЬНАЯ ЦЕНА НЕФТИ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Министр отметил, что Россия выступает за то, чтобы Иран как крупнейшая страна-экспортер энергоресурсов оставался участником рынка. "Мы не приемлем односторонних санкций, которые не соответствуют решениям ООН. Безусловно, нужно с юридической точки зрения оценивать дальнейшие возможности и механизмы взаимодействия с Ираном, чтобы наши компании не понесли ущерба», - отметил Министр.

2018, October, 8, 10:45:00 RUSSIA'S - SAUDIS OIL RISKS PLATTS - "Prices are continuing to rise and I think that proves the point that it is not the fundamentals of oil supply and demand that is behind this price increase," Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said, during a key session of the forum Thursday.

2018, October, 5, 12:50:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $85 ANEW REUTERS - Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 10 cents a barrel at $84.68 by 0820 GMT. On Thursday, Brent fell by $1.34 a barrel or 1.6 percent. The contract is on course for a gain of around 2.5 percent for the week. U.S. light crude was up 30 cents at $74.63, a gain of more than 2 percent since last Friday.

2018, October, 5, 12:45:00 РОССИЯ: РАВНОВЕСИЕ НА РЫНКЕ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Говоря о динамике цен на энергоресурсы, Александр Новак подчеркнул, что главной задачей как для России, так и для других участников договоренностей о регулировании добычи нефти всегда было балансирование рынка, а не рост стоимости до определенных уровней.

2018, October, 5, 12:40:00 РОССИЯ: +300 000 БАРРЕЛЕЙ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - цифры были названы президентом РФ: мы в краткосрочном периоде можем увеличить еще на 200-300 тысяч баррелей, если при этом будет необходимость и целесообразность, потому что основная задача — баланс спроса и предложения, чтобы не нарушить равновесие на рынке, а наоборот его сохранить.

2018, October, 4, 14:45:00 ЦЕНА НЕФТИ: $65 - $75 МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Сейчас рынок пытается достичь баланса цен, который будет отвечать как интересам производителей, так и потребителей. И этот уровень, вероятно, чуть ниже, чем тот, что мы видим сейчас. На основной панели Российской энергетической недели президент Владимир Путин говорил о диапазоне $65-75 за баррель, который, с одной стороны, приемлем для производителей и потребителей, с другой - время позволяет возвращать деньги в отрасль для ее стабильного дальнейшего развития», - пояснил Александр Новак.