2020-11-19 14:35:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $44 AGAIN
REUTERS - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 - Oil futures dipped on Thursday as a surge in coronavirus cases and tighter economic restrictions around the globe weighed on fuel demand expectations, also dragging down equities globally .MIWD00000PUS.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 27 cents to $44.07 a barrel by 0911 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 slipped 43 cents to $41.39 a barrel. A rising dollar .DXY made oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
But Brent's six-month contango LCOc1-LCOc7, a market structure implying current oversupply, was at its shallowest in over four months on Thursday, suggesting concerns over a glut are easing somewhat.
U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose 768,000 barrels last week, less than the 1.7 million barrels analysts expected in a Reuters poll, government data showed. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 5.2 million barrels, far exceeding expectations.
Still, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed a grim new milestone of 250,000 on Wednesday, as New York City shut public schools.
In Asia, Tokyo posted its highest coronavirus alert level on Thursday as its daily tally of new infections hit a record high of 534 cases.
Russia surpassed 2 million coronavirus cases after reporting record high daily rises in infections and deaths related to COVID-19.
Worries about coronavirus-related economic damage overshadowed upbeat news from Pfizer PFE.N and BioNTech 22UAy.DE that are seeking U.S. and European authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccines next month.
Asian shares drifted off all-time highs on Thursday and widening COVID-19 restrictions in the United states weighed on Wall Street.
“Investors are also booking profits from the recent rally before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday later this month,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi Co.
Raising the spectre of further oversupply, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and France's Total TOTF.PA discussed NOC's efforts to raise capacity and increase production.
OPEC+, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, is due to discuss policy at a full ministerial meeting on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
Members of OPEC+ are leaning towards delaying their current plan to boost output in January by 2 million barrels per day (bpd), sources have said.
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Earlier:
2020, November, 18, 14:40:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $44 ANEW
Brent rose 22 cents, or 0.5%, to $43.97 a barrel . WTI climbed 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $41.49 a barrel.
2020, November, 18, 14:35:00
OPEC+: 101%
The Committee reviewed the crude oil production data for October 2020 and welcomed the positive performance in the overall conformity level for participating OPEC and non-OPEC Countries, at 101 per cent.
2020, November, 17, 13:25:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $44
Brent rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $44.00 a barrel. WTI added 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $41.42 a barrel.
2020, November, 17, 13:20:00
OPEC+ CUTS PRODUCTION
OPEC+ ministers are weighing whether to relax their current 7.7 million b/d in collective production cuts to 5.8 million b/d as originally scheduled, maintain them at the same level for a few months, or even deepen them.
2020, November, 16, 12:40:00
OIL PRICE: ABOVE $43
Brent rose 54 cents, or 1.3%, to $43.32 a barrel. WTI was at $40.76 a barrel, up 63 cents, or 1.6%.
2020, November, 13, 13:25:00
OPEC+ RUSSIA REDUCING
Saudi Arabia and Russia, leaders of the 23-nation coalition, have already indicated publicly that they are thinking twice about easing production cuts in January as the resurgent pandemic hits fuel demand.
2020, November, 13, 13:20:00
U.S. OIL INVENTORIES UP 4.3 MB TO 488.7 MB
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 4.3 million barrels to 488.7 million barrels
