OIL PRICE: NEARLY $76

REUTERS -  Brent crude futures rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday after Venezuela raised the prospect of halting some crude oil exports, according to people familiar with the matter, but gains were capped amid reports the U.S. government had asked Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC producers to increase output.

Falling production from Venezuela has contributed to a rally in global oil price Brent to nearly $80 a barrel. State firm PDVSA is considering declaring force majeure on some exports, three sources told Reuters, amid plummeting output from its oil fields and tanker bottlenecks at ports.

Brent crude LCOc1 rose 78 cents to $76.16 a barrel by 0645 GMT after dropping to its lowest since May 8 on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 33 cents at $65.85 a barrel, having touched a near two-month low on Tuesday.

"It's a tug of war between the loss of supply from Venezuela and Iran and the potential output increase from OPEC and U.S. shale," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. "$80 is a temporary ceiling for oil until we hear from OPEC."

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia will meet on June 22-23 to decide how much production they will increase as global inventories have tightened while Venezuela's production has dropped more than expected. U.S. sanctions on Iran are also threatening to reduce oil exports from the OPEC producer.

The United States government has weighed in on the decision by putting in unofficial requests to Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC producers to increase output, sources said on Tuesday.

"At the moment, the oil price is being driven by OPEC and views on how much and how quickly OPEC plus will raise output," Energy Aspects analyst Virendra Chauhan said.

Reuters reported on May 25 that the producers were considering a supply increase of 1 million barrels per day, with a final decision to be made at the June meeting in Vienna.

WTI's discount to Brent CL-LCO1=R widened 42 cents to $10.34 a barrel as the global benchmark rose more than U.S. crude futures.

American Petroleum Institute data showed late on Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 2 million barrels, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 1.8 million barrels.

Investors are waiting for the official inventories report to be issued by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration at 1430 GMT.

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Earlier: 

2018, June, 4, 13:55:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $76 ANEW REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 10 cents, or 0.2 percent, $65.71 a barrel by 2353 GMT. Last week, WTI lost around 3 percent, adding to a near 5 percent decline a week before. The global benchmark Brent fell 26 cents, or 0.34 percent, to $76.53 a barrel.

2018, June, 4, 13:50:00 ЦЕНА URALS: $67.91 МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена нефти марки Urals по итогам января – мая 2018 года составила $ 67,91 за баррель. В 2017 году средняя цена на Urals в январе – мае составила $ 51,29 за баррель. Средняя цена на нефть марки Urals в мае 2018 года сложилась в размере $ 74,86 за баррель, что в 1,52 раза выше, чем в мае 2017 года ($ 49,14 за баррель).

2018, June, 4, 13:35:00 IRAN'S OIL EXPORTS 2.7 MBD SHANA - The country exported 2.4 mbd of crude oil and 300,000 b/d of gas condensate, ultra light crude oil, during May.

2018, June, 1, 09:45:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $77 YET REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 lost 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $66.88 a barrel by 0423 GMT, after falling almost 2 percent on Thursday. Global benchmark Brent crude LCOc1, which was little changed in the previous session, was down 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $77.47 per barrel.

2018, May, 30, 14:10:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $75 TOO REUTERS - Brent LCOc1 rose 40 cents to $75.79 a barrel by 0925 GMT, after trading as low as $74.81 earlier. U.S. crude CLc1 was up 25 cents at $66.98.

2018, May, 30, 14:05:00 МЫ НАЙДЕМ КОМПРОМИСС МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Я думаю, что мы найдем общее согласие, общий компромисс. Все страны заинтересованы в стабильной ситуации на рынке. Никто не заинтересован в том, чтобы создавать перегрев на рынке», - отметил Министр.

2018, May, 30, 14:00:00 UNDERINVESTMENT GLOBAL OIL REUTERS - The global oil industry should ramp up investment to ensure it can cope with future consumption growth and avoid supply shortages, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told a conference in Baku.