OIL PRICE: NEAR $74 AGAIN

REUTERS - Oil rose on Monday after Saudi crude production registered an unexpected decline in July and U.S. drilling appeared to slow, although the price is still almost 10 percent below its 2018 high of more than $80 a barrel.

Markets also anticipated an announcement from Washington later on Monday on renewed U.S. sanctions against major oil exporter Iran. So-called "snapback" sanctions are due to be reinstated at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, according to a U.S. Treasury official.

Saudi Arabia pumped around 10.29 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in July, two OPEC sources said on Friday, down about 200,000 bpd from a month earlier.

That drop came despite a pledge by the Saudis and top producer Russia in June to raise output from July, with Saudi Arabia pledging a "measurable" supply boost.

Brent crude oil futures were up 31 cents on the day at $73.52 a barrel by 0903 GMT, while U.S. futures rose 35 cents to $68.84 barrel.

"Saudi Arabia knows that the U.S. really does want to see maximum impact from sanctions towards Iran, which means that they want to prepare all buyers of Iranian crude to say 'there is plenty of oil in the market and don't be afraid to pull back on Iran (purchases)," said Bjarne Schieldrop, head of commodities strategy at SEB.

This is not about bombarding the market with oil and pushing the price into the $50's, it is about preparing the market and easing the transition, he said. "There is no wish from Saudi Arabia to push prices down to $50."

Most Iranian crude exports go to China and India, but roughly 20 percent go to Europe, where refiners have already cut their purchases. Saudi Arabia last week cut its official selling prices for Asian customers to a four-month low.

U.S. investment bank Jefferies said in a note that "the Saudi and Russian production surges appear to be more limited" than initially expected, adding that bullish market sentiment was also fueled by the imminent reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Still, with Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia now all producing 10 million to 11 million bpd of crude, just three countries now meet around a third of global oil demand.

Meanwhile, U.S. energy companies last week cut oil rigs for a second time in the past three weeks as the rate of growth has slowed over the past couple of months.

Drillers cut two oil rigs in the week to Aug. 3, bringing the total count down to 859, Baker Hughes energy services firm said on Friday.

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Earlier: 

2018, August, 3, 10:15:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $73 REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $68.87 per barrel at 0647 GMT, down 9 cents from their last settlement. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $73.40 per barrel, down 5 cents from their last close.

2018, August, 3, 10:10:00 ЦЕНА URALS: $ 69,43 МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена нефти марки Urals по итогам января – июля 2018 года составила $ 69,43 за баррель. В 2017 году средняя цена на Urals в январе – июле составила $ 49,94 за баррель. Средняя цена на нефть марки Urals в июле 2018 года сложилась в размере $ 72,87 за баррель, что в 1,52 раза выше, чем в июле 2017 года ($ 47,85 за баррель).

2018, August, 3, 09:55:00 SAUDIS OIL PRICES DOWN BLOOMBERG - Saudi Aramco, as the state-owned company is known, cut pricing for September shipments of all grades to Asia, its largest market. Aramco set the premium for Arab Light crude to Asia at $1.20 a barrel above the Middle East benchmark, it said Thursday in an emailed price list. The reduction of 70 cents for Arab Light was the second consecutive monthly cut for the grade and was 10 cents deeper than the median estimate of five traders in a Bloomberg survey.

2018, August, 1, 09:40:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $74 YET REUTERS - Brent spot crude oil futures dropped 30 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $73.91 a barrel by 0435 GMT, adding to a 1.8 percent loss in the previous session. U.S. crude futures were down 38 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $68.38 a barrel, having dropped nearly 2 percent on Tuesday.

2018, July, 30, 13:55:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $75 YET REUTERS - October Brent crude futures were last up 36 cents at $75.12 a barrel by 0902 GMT. The September contract expires on Tuesday. U.S. crude futures were up 78 cents at $69.47 a barrel.

2018, July, 27, 12:53:57 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $74 YET REUTERS - Brent futures were down 5 cents at $74.49 a barrel by 0319 GMT, after gaining 0.8 percent on Thursday. They are heading for a near 2 percent gain this week, the first weekly increase in four. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 5 cents lower, at $69.56, after rising nearly 0.5 percent in the previous session. The contract is heading for a 1.3 percent weekly loss, a fourth week of declines.

2018, July, 25, 10:20:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $74 AGAIN REUTERS - Brent crude was up 54 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $73.98 a barrel by 0318 GMT. The global benchmark settled 38 cents higher at $73.44 a barrel on Tuesday, after climbing to as high as $74. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 24 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $68.76, having settled the previous session up 63 cents, or nearly 1 percent.