2020-10-20 15:45:00
OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $43 AGAIN
REUTERS - OCTOBER 20, 2020 - Oil prices steadied on Tuesday but remained under pressure from the threat to demand from a global resurgence in coronavirus cases and rising Libyan output.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were trading flat at $42.62 a barrel by 1206 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $40.88.
Both contracts have been trading in a $2 to 2.50 per barrel range for two weeks.
COVID-19 cases topped 40 million on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, with a growing second wave in Europe and North America sparking various degrees of lockdown measures.
“Tuesday found oil traders struggling to make up their minds on how to interpret the result of the previous day’s OPEC+ meeting,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy.
A meeting on Monday of a ministerial panel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, together known as OPEC+, pledged to support the oil market as concerns grow over soaring coronavirus cases.
For now OPEC+ is sticking with a deal to curb output by 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) to the end of the year and then increasing production by 2 million bpd in January.
“Monday’s JMMC meeting failed to match market hopes of scrapping the planned output rise in January amidst an increasingly precarious demand environment,” JBC Energy said.
OPEC watchers, including analysts from U.S. bank J.P. Morgan, have said that a weak demand outlook could prompt OPEC+ to delay the reduction in curbs.
“Demand recovery is uneven ... Today this process has slowed down because of a second coronavirus wave but has not yet fully reversed,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the JMMC meeting.
OPEC member Libya, which is exempt from the cuts, is ramping up production after armed conflict shut almost all of the country’s output in January.
Output from its biggest field, Sharara, resumed on Oct. 11 and is now at about 150,000 bpd, about half its capacity, two industry sources told Reuters.
Another 70,000 bpd oilfield is expected to restart on Oct. 24.
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Earlier:
2020, October, 19, 14:50:00
OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $43 ANEW
Brent was down 30 cents, or 0.7%, to $42.63 a barrel, WTI was down 28 cents, or 0.7%, at $40.60.
2020, October, 19, 14:45:00
GLOBAL OIL DEMAND PEAK: 2040
"We see oil demand peaking in around 2040 as a result of a slowing economy, together with less fuel demand for cars, aircraft and ships."
2020, October, 16, 13:10:00
OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $43 TILL
Brent dropped 38 cents, or 0.9%, to $42.78 a barrel, WTI slid 35 cents, or 0.9%, to $40.61 a barrel.
2020, October, 15, 13:50:00
OIL PRICE: NOT BELOW $42 TILL
Brent dropped 70 cents, or 1.6% to $42.62 a barrel, WTI were down 69 cents, or 1.7%, to $40.35.
2020, October, 15, 13:45:00
ЭНЕРГЕТИКА: БЕЗОПАСНОСТЬ ДЛЯ ВСЕХ
К числу наиболее важных сфер для международного сообщества относится энергетика, которая выступает одним из основных гарантов всеобщей безопасности в современном мире.
2020, October, 15, 13:40:00
RUSSIA'S DRILLING WILL DOWN
The Russian oil-service market may halve in 2020-2021 compared to last year,
2020, October, 14, 11:55:00
OPEC PLANS TO REDUCE PRODUCTION
The 23-country OPEC+ alliance is in the midst of a 7.7 million b/d production
