2019-05-24 10:25:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $67
REUTERS - Oil prices recouped around 1% on Friday but were on track for their biggest weekly loss this year after swelling inventories and jitters over an economic slowdown led to big falls earlier in the week.
Brent crude futures were at $68.48 per barrel at 0654 GMT, up 72 cents, or 1.1%, from their last close, with prices underpinned by OPEC supply cuts and Middle East tensions.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 66 cents, or 1.1%, at $58.57 per barrel.
"Multiple supply risks remain, as tension continues between Iran and the U.S., which could turn disruptive," ANZ bank said on Friday.
The forward price curve for Brent crude futures remains in backwardation, in which prices for prompt delivery are higher than those for later dispatch, implying tight market conditions and making it profitable to produce and sell oil immediately rather than store it for later sale.
"Despite the big declines in the Brent flat price, the backwardation in the forward curve steepened this week," U.S. investment bank Jefferies said on Friday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has led supply cuts since the start of the year aimed at tightening the market and propping up prices.
ANZ said U.S. sanctions on Iran's and Venezuela's oil industries would likely further reduce crude exports from OPEC, of which both countries are members.
But Friday's firmer prices could not make up the much bigger slumps earlier in the week, which have put crude futures on track for their biggest weekly losses this year, with Brent set for a decline of more than 5%.
"Brent prices are down ... this week as U.S.-China trade concerns are dominating the headlines," Jefferies bank said.
From mid-week, rising oil inventories in the United States started weighing on prices.
"Increasing (oil) inventories and slumping U.S. manufacturing activity exacerbated trade related concerns about global demand," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Australia, said in a note, pulling WTI below $60 per barrel and Brent below $70 per barrel.
And the glut has spread beyond North America. Struggling to cope with an economic slowdown and oversupply from fuels, Asian refinery margins this week fell to their lowest seasonal levels since at least the financial crisis a decade ago, triggering plans for refinery run cuts.
With the trade dispute between the United States and China ongoing, analysts say more drops in financial markets, including crude oil futures, could follow.
"Without a resolution to the ongoing trade dispute quickly, which now looks very unlikely, oil could struggle to push higher," said Jasper Lawler, Head of Research at futures brokerage London Capital Group.
"We expect rallies in oil to be short lived," he added.
Stock markets on Friday fell to four-month lows on worries the U.S.-China trade spat was developing into a more entrenched strategic dispute between the world's two largest economies.
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Earlier:
2019, May, 23, 12:35:00
OIL PRICE: ABOVE $70 YET
Brent crude futures were at $70.36 per barrel, down 63 cents, or 0.9%, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down by 51 cents, or 0.8%, at $60.91 per barrel.
2019, May, 23, 12:25:00
СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО ОПЕК+ РОССИЯ
“Российские компании согласны с тем, что необходимо продолжать сотрудничество. Взаимодействие направлено как на восстановление баланса на рынке, так и на поддержание справедливой, стабильной стоимости углеводородов, - отметил Александр Новак. - Россия готова оперативно реагировать на запросы рынка, мы можем увеличить производство из-за дефицита рынка. В качестве примера гибкости напомню, что мы вслед за ростом спроса прошлым летом увеличили производство и сократили его к концу года, когда на рынке был избыток».
2019, May, 22, 11:00:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $72 AGAIN
Brent crude futures were down 39 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $71.79 at barrel. WTI crude futures for July delivery were down 59 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $62.54.
2019, May, 21, 15:50:00
ИСПОЛНЕНИЕ СДЕЛКИ ОПЕК+
“Мы отметили, что странам Соглашения необходимо вернуться к полному исполнению сделки для гарантии того, что стабильность рынка сохранится. Конкретные параметры, в которых мы будем действовать во второй половине 2019 года, будут определены в Вене в течение месяца. Мы рассматриваем разные опции, в том числе послабление квот по сокращению добычи. Естественно, при соответствующих сигналах от рынка”,
2019, May, 21, 15:45:00
BALANCED OIL MARKET
Following its 14th Meeting, which took place on 19 May 2019, in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving a balanced market and working towards oil market stability on a sustainable basis with solid fundamentals.
2019, May, 21, 15:40:00
OPEC+ WILL STAY
"We want to bring inventories down to a more normal levels," Falih said. "We need to stay the course and do that in the weeks and months to come."
2019, May, 21, 15:35:00
OPEC+ RUSSIA COOPERATION
Russia sees a range of options that would allow OPEC+ to continue output cooperation until year-end, from easing the limits to ending the extreme throttling-back that has seen some countries exceed original cutback targets.
