2020-08-26 13:15:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $46
REUTERS - AUGUST 26, 2020 - Oil rose towards $46 a barrel on Wednesday, near the highest since March, lifted by U.S. producers shutting most of their offshore Gulf of Mexico output ahead of Hurricane Laura and a report showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Renewed worries over the COVID-19 pandemic, which has squeezed demand and sent prices to record lows in April, capped gains after reports this week of patients being re-infected, raising concerns about future immunity.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 2 cents to $45.88 a barrel by 0815 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 3 cents to $43.32. Both benchmarks settled at a five-month high on Tuesday.
"Oil traders will be preoccupied with the hurricane today," said Tamas Varga of broker PVM. "Once the danger passes, demand considerations will come into focus again."
The U.S. energy industry was preparing on Tuesday for a major hurricane strike. Producers shut 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude output, representing 84% of the Gulf of Mexico's offshore production and close to the 90% outage that Hurricane Katrina brought 15 years ago.
"We do see some support on the back of hurricane activity," Dutch bank ABN AMRO said in a report. "The threat of being infected by the COVID-19 virus threatens a further recovery in oil demand."
Oil was also boosted on Tuesday by U.S. and Chinese officials reaffirming their commitment to a Phase 1 trade deal. Further support came from American Petroleum Institute figures <API/S> showing U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected.
A record oil output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia has helped to lift Brent from April's 21-year low below $16.
The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration report at 1430 GMT will be in focus to see if it confirms the API figures.
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Earlier:
2020, August, 25, 14:30:00
OIL PRICE: NOT BELOW $45
Brent added 14 cents, or 0.3%, to $45.27 a barrel , WTI was down 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $42.58 a barrel.
2020, August, 24, 12:45:00
OIL PRICE: BELOW $45
Brent was up 32 cents, or 0.7%, at $44.67 a barrel , WTI rose 31 cents, or 0.7%, to $42.65.
2020, August, 21, 11:35:00
OIL PRICE: NEAR $45 THOUGH
Brent were up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $44.95 per barrel, WTI were unchanged at $42.82 per barrel
2020, August, 21, 11:25:00
OPEC+ : FRAGILE MARKET
OPEC+ underscored the fragility of the market and significant uncertainties, particularly associated with oil demand, and called for vigilance by all participating countries.
2020, August, 21, 11:20:00
SAUDI'S OIL PRODUCTION DOWN
Saudi Arabia pumped 7.484 million b/d in June, the lowest since December 2002, and down from 8.486 million b/d in May.
2020, August, 20, 14:35:00
U.S. OIL INVENTORIES DOWN BY 1.6 MB TO 512.5 MB
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels to 512.5 million barrels,
2020, August, 20, 14:20:00
OIL DEMAND 97%
it is estimated that the world will reach about 97% of pre-pandemic oil demand during the fourth quarter
