OIL PRICE: NEAR $61 AGAIN

REUTERS -  Oil prices fell on Wednesday, pulled down by swelling U.S. inventories and a plunge in global stock markets as China’s government warned of increasing economic headwinds.

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $60.87 per barrel at 0508 GMT, down $1.21, or 2 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $52.33 per barrel, down 92 cents, or 1.7 percent.

Reuters technical commodity analyst Wang Tao said WTI could soon test support at $51.75 per barrel, while Brent was threatening to drop below $60 per barrel again soon.

Oil prices were pressured by a weekly report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that said U.S. crude inventories rose by 5.4 million barrels in the week to Nov. 30, to 448 million barrels, in a sign that U.S. oil markets are in a growing glut.

Official U.S. government oil production and inventory data is due later on Wednesday.

More broadly, the slide in U.S. oil followed a tumble in global stock markets on Tuesday, with investors worried about the threat of a widespread economic slowdown.

Key to the global economic outlook will be whether the United States and China can resolve their trade disputes. Washington and Beijing announced a 90-day truce last weekend, during which neither side will further increase punitive import tariffs.

In a sign of easing tensions between the two world’s biggest economies, Chinese oil trader Unipec plans to resume U.S. crude shipments to China by March after the Xi-Trump deal at the G20 meeting reduced the risk of tariffs being imposed on these imports, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Yet the truce may not last. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to place “major tariffs” on Chinese goods imported into the United States if his administration didn’t reach a desirable deal with Beijing.

China’s state council on Wednesday issued guidance to support employment as the economy slows, saying the country should pay “high attention” to the impact on employment from increasing economic headwinds.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in its 2019 economic outlook, published on Tuesday, that “most major economies are likely to see decelerating activity”, although it added that “a steady stream of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures” was expected to stem the slowdown.

The bank said it expected Brent and WTI prices to average $70 and $59 per barrel respectively in 2019.

Brent and WTI have averaged $72.80 and $66.10 per barrel so far this year.

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Earlier: 

2018, December, 3, 12:40:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $62 REUTERS - Brent futures LCOc1 rose $2.40 to trade at $61.86 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 gained $2.28 to $53.21, both on course to make their biggest daily gains in over two years.

2018, December, 3, 12:35:00 РОССИЙСКО - САУДОВСКАЯ ПЕРСПЕКТИВА МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Как отметил по итогам переговоров глава Минэнерго России и сопредседатель Совместной межправительственной Российско-Саудовская комиссии по торгово-экономическому и научно-техническому сотрудничеству Александр Новак, товарооборот между Россией и Саудовской Аравией демонстрирует положительную динамику: в 2017 году он вырос на 86% до $915 млн.

2018, December, 3, 12:25:00 RUSSIAN OIL PRODUCTION 11.37 MBD REUTERS - Russian oil output stood at 11.37 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, down from the post-Soviet record high of 11.41 million bpd that it reached in October, Energy Ministry data showed on Sunday.

2018, December, 3, 12:15:00 РОССИЙСКО - САУДОВСКАЯ ЭНЕРГЕТИКА МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - “Энергетика продолжает оставаться ключевой сферой двустороннего сотрудничества наших стран. Взаимодействие двух стран подкрепляется также и координацией действий на различных международных площадках, прежде всего — в формате “ОПЕК+”. Также востребованным направлением взаимодействия с Саудовской Аравией является сотрудничество в сфере поставок и обслуживания нефтегазового оборудования, а также в части совместных проектов на территории двух стран”, - подчеркнул Александр Новак.

2018, December, 3, 12:10:00 КОМФОРТНАЯ ЦЕНА НЕФТИ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - На мой взгляд, текущий диапазон цен на нефть комфортен для производителей и потребителей. Скачок до 86 долларов носил краткосрочный характер, и был связан во многом с ажиотажем вокруг Ирана. Сейчас цены скорректировались, хотя неопределенность с Ираном сохраняется в некоторой степени.

2018, November, 30, 12:15:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $60 AGAIN REUTERS - International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $59.68 per barrel at 0742 GMT, up 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at 51.41, down 4 cents.

2018, November, 28, 13:00:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $61 REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $52.36 per barrel at 0748 GMT, up 80 cents, or 1.6 percent from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 89 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $61.10 per barrel.