2019-06-26 14:10:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $65
REUTERS - Oil prices rose on Wednesday, buoyed by an outage at a major refinery on the U.S. East Coast and industry data that showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected.
Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were up 84 cents at $65.89 per barrel by 0948 GMT. They earlier touched their highest since May 31 at $66.25 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.91 per barrel, up $1.08 from their last settlement. WTI earlier hit its highest level since May 30 at $59.13 a barrel.
U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 7.5 million barrels in the week ended June 21 to 474.5 million, compared with analyst expectations for a decline of 2.5 million barrels, American Petroleum Institute data showed.
Crude stocks at U.S. delivery hub Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 1.3 million barrels.
The crude inventory fall and refinery outage added to uncertainty over oil supplies created by the war of words between Washington and Tehran. This has prompted fears that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz - the world's busiest oil supply route - could be disrupted.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to obliterate parts of Iran if it attacked "anything American". Tehran has condemned a fresh round of U.S. sanctions as "mentally retarded".
Bilateral tensions spiked anew after Iran shot down a U.S. drone last week in the Gulf. Relations have been tense since Washington blamed attacks on oil tankers just outside the Gulf in May and June on Iran, while Tehran has denied any role.
In the search for longer term direction, markets will watch the G20 meeting this weekend followed by a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers taking place on July 1-2.
Non-OPEC producer Russia, backed by Saudi Arabia, pushed for the meeting to be delayed to see the outcome of the G20 talks. OPEC and non-OPEC producers are due to discuss extending output cuts for the second half of this year.
Energy demand projections and the global economic outlook have been weighed down by a trade war between the United States and China. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at the weekend for the first time in seven months.
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Earlier:
2019, June, 25, 13:10:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $64 ANEW
Brent crude futures were down 12 cents at $64.74, U.S. crude futures were up 3 cents at $57.93 a barrel.
2019, June, 25, 13:00:00
US, IRAN SANCTIONS ANEW
the United States had never targeted an Iranian head of state before and that was a sign Trump was getting personal.
2019, June, 25, 12:55:00
US CAN CLOSE HORMUZ
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that other countries, including China and Japan, should protect their own oil tankers in the Middle East.
2019, June, 25, 12:50:00
U.S. FINANCIAL RISKS UP
In addition, a number of medium-term risks are growing. The financial system appears healthy but vulnerabilities in leveraged corporates and, potentially, in the nonbank system are elevated by historical standards. An abrupt reversal of the recent supportive financial market conditions or a deepening of ongoing trade disputes represent material risks to the U.S. economy, with concomitant negative outward spillovers. The U.S. public debt-to-GDP ratio is on an unsustainable path and is expected to continue rising throughout the medium-term, as aging related spending rises.
2019, June, 24, 12:30:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $65 YET
Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to $65.66 per barrel, near Friday’s three-week high of $65.76, while U.S. crude futures were up 1.1% at $58.07, standing at its highest in over three weeks.
2019, June, 24, 12:20:00
RUSSIA WILL HELP IRAN
Iran and Russia already have a deal whereby Iran sells 100,000 b/d of crude oil to Russia and receives 50% of the value in cash and 50% in equipment.
2019, June, 21, 10:05:00
THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS IMPORTANT
The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint because of the large volumes of oil that flow through the strait. In 2018, its daily oil flow averaged 21 million barrels per day (b/d), or the equivalent of about 21% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
