Futures Markets
Brent, WTI add over $1 during session
Crude oil prices were up sharply on Thursday on rumors that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had reached an informal agreement on a production cut. Saudi Arabia has already started cutting production and it is believed that Nigeria will cut its production by 5 percent beginning October 1. November contracts for Brent crude added […]
Gasoline, heating oil inventories up
After early gains on Wednesday, crude oil prices were lower again after the US Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventories report showed that crude oil stockpiles were lower but not down nearly as much as had been expected, while gasoline inventories were up substantially more than had been forecast. Distillates inventories were also higher.
Crude oil inventories […]
Brent crude trades below $60 per barrel
Crude oil prices were trading around the $60 per barrel level after falling below that earlier in the session. Prices have fallen more than $17 dollars since they peaked in August, the largest decline over a similar period in over 15 years. Much of the declines have come as the summer driving season in the […]
Brent, WTI trade just above $61 per barrel
Oil prices dropped again on Wednesday after the weekly US stockpiles report showed that distillates inventories, which include heating oil, were up 4.1 million barrels in the week ending September 15. Total inventories of distillates stood at 148.7 million barrels, their highest level since January 1999, a time when crude oil futures were trading at […]
BP announces Thunder Horse production delay
Crude oil prices were mixed on Tuesday, as Brent crude gained on the news that BP will have to delay the launch of production at its Thunder Horse facility in the Gulf of Mexico but West Texas Intermediate was slightly lower in the middle of the trading day. The news of the delay was seen […]
WTI drops nearly 6 percent on week
Crude oil prices were lower again on Friday, with Brent crude November contracts dropping $1 to $62.54 per barrel by mid-afternoon in London, a decline of 4 percent on the week. Meanwhile, October delivery West Texas Intermediate crude fell 85 cents to $62.37 per barrel at late morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange, […]
Crude oil inventories fall on increased refining
Crude oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday after the release of weekly US inventories figures by the Energy Information Administration. Crude oil stockpiles were down by 2.9 million barrels last week, much more than the expected decline of 1.9 million barrels. The declines were blamed on stepped-up refinery production in anticipation of higher demand for […]
Oil demand growth forecasts lowered
Crude oil prices were down again on Tuesday on lower predictions of demand growth from both the International Energy Agency and the US Department of Energy. The IEA lowered its demand growth prediction by 100,000 barrels per day for both this year and next, to 1.1 million barrels per day this year and 1.5 million […]
Brent, WTI each drop $1 per barrel on session
Crude oil prices were down again on Monday after Iran said that it would temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment program as progress was made in talks with the European Union. Both sides said that several “misunderstandings” had been cleared up over the weekend, and Iran offered to suspend its nuclear activities for two months.
Also sending […]
Production up at Katrina-damages platform
Crude oil prices dropped again on Friday after BP announced that it could return to full production at its Prudhoe Bay, Alaska oil field as early as October, sooner than it had earlier predicted. Other news, including news from Royal Dutch Shell that its Mars platform in the Gulf of Mexico was producing 20 percent […]
Inventories report shows less crude oil, more gasoline and distillates
The price of crude oil dropped again on Thursday after the release of new inventories figures. While crude oil stockpiles fell by 2.2 million barrels in the week ending September 1 on lower imports, the US inventory of crude oil remained at a healthy 330 million barrels. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories were up by 700,000 barrels […]
Brent, WTI trade below $68 per barrel
Crude oil prices continued to decline on Wednesday, falling to near their lowest level in three months as the summer driving season in the US ended and as diplomatic efforts to end the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program continued. Also helping prices decline were predictions that tropical storm Florence will not enter the Gulf […]
Brent, WTI remain under $70 per barrel
Oil prices dropped again on Friday, partly because there has been little change in the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and partly due to a lack of concern about storms in the oil-producing areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Over the week, unexpected advanced in oil imports and in US crude oil and gasoline inventories […]