2019-03-13 11:45:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $67
REUTERS - Oil prices rose on Wednesday, pushed up by ongoing supply cuts from producer cartel OPEC and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.
International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $66.85 a barrel at 0341 GMT, up 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $57.12 per barrel, up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last settlement.
Oil prices have been pushed up this year by supply cuts led by the Middle East dominated producer group of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Markets have been further tightened by the implementation of U.S. sanctions against oil exports from OPEC-members Iran and Venezuela.
In Venezuela, the worst blackout on record has left most of the South American country without power for six days, leaving hospitals struggling to keep equipment running, food rotting in the tropical heat and exports from the country’s main oil terminal stranded.
“Failures in the electrical system ... (are) likely to accelerate the loss of 700,000 barrels per day” in oil supply, Barclays bank said.
Despite this, not all indicators point to an ever tighter market.
National Australia Bank (NAB) said the oil market outlook was mixed, with downside price risk coming from economic growth concerns and strong oil supply growth from the United States, with OPEC’s supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela acting as price drivers.
“On balance, we see a very gradual uptrend for oil this year, with Brent forecast to reach $70 per barrel by the end of the year,” NAB said.
U.S. crude oil production is expected to average about 12.30 million bpd in 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.
That’s up from an average of around 11 million bpd in 2018.
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Earlier:
2019, March, 11, 11:55:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $66 YET
Oil prices edged up on Monday after Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said an end to OPEC-led supply cuts was unlikely before June, while a report showed U.S. drilling activity fell for a third straight week.
2019, March, 7, 12:05:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $66
Oil prices crept up on Thursday amid ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against exporters Venezuela and Iran, but gains were capped by record U.S. crude output and rising commercial fuel inventories.
2019, March, 6, 11:55:00
OIL PRICE: ABOVE $65
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as bullish output forecasts by two big U.S. producers and a build in weekly U.S. crude stockpiles outweighed OPEC-led production cuts.
2019, March, 4, 11:20:00
OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $70 YET
Oil prices rose on Monday, buoyed by output cuts by producer club OPEC and reports that the United States and China are close to a deal to end a bitter tariff row that has slowed global economic growth.
2019, March, 1, 12:20:00
OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $70
Oil prices climbed on Friday as markets tightened amid output cuts by producer club OPEC, but surging U.S. supply and concerns of global economic slowdown kept a lid on further gains.
2019, March, 1, 12:15:00
OIL PRICES WILL BE $60-$70
The next 10-15 years will be a period of stable development for the oil industry and prices will remain relatively high at $60-$70/b, the CEO of Lukoil, Russia's second-largest crude producer, said Wednesday.
2019, March, 1, 12:10:00
OIL PRICES 2019-20: ABOVE $60
Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $59 per barrel (b) in January, up $2/b from December 2018 but $10/b lower than the average in January of last year.
