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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent falls further
Ice Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading, extended losses after falling below $100/bl in the previous session.
The Ice front-month November Brent contract was at $98.49/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 76¢/bl from its settlement on 22 September when it ended $1.09/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month November crude contract was at $89.38/bl, lower by $1.14/bl from its settlement on 22 September when it ended $1.85/bl lower.
Oil prices fell on 22 September on the back of media reports that Saudi Arabia has restarted its 7mn b/d East-West crude pipeline. The prospect that Saudi Arabia will soon be able to export from both Ras Tanura port in the Mideast Gulf and Yanbu port on the Red Sea eased fears of a supply crunch that first emerged when the pipeline was taken offline on 10 September.
US president Donald Trump's administration has become increasingly confident it has eroded Iran's ability to constrict energy flows through the strait of Hormuz, but the high price of those efforts — both economically and militarily — is calling into question its long-term viability.
"We now have more oil flowing through the strait than at any point by far since the conflict began," Trump told a group of Mideast Gulf diplomats assembled in New York on 22 September to hear his vision for bringing the conflict with Iran to a swift conclusion.
But Trump also told the group that progress on resolving the conflict can wait until after the 3 November US midterm elections, meaning more months of turmoil in what had been promised to be a short conflict.
While crude prices have fallen this week, refined products prices — particularly diesel — are reaching record highs in many markets around the globe. The high costs to consumers has some countries considering more subsidies, and has even spurred the US administration to consider a ban on diesel exports.
Ice Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading, extended losses after falling below $100/bl in the previous session.
The Ice front-month November Brent contract was at $98.49/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 76¢/bl from its settlement on 22 September when it ended $1.09/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month November crude contract was at $89.38/bl, lower by $1.14/bl from its settlement on 22 September when it ended $1.85/bl lower.
Oil prices fell on 22 September on the back of media reports that Saudi Arabia has restarted its 7mn b/d East-West crude pipeline. The prospect that Saudi Arabia will soon be able to export from both Ras Tanura port in the Mideast Gulf and Yanbu port on the Red Sea eased fears of a supply crunch that first emerged when the pipeline was taken offline on 10 September.
US president Donald Trump's administration has become increasingly confident it has eroded Iran's ability to constrict energy flows through the strait of Hormuz, but the high price of those efforts — both economically and militarily — is calling into question its long-term viability.
"We now have more oil flowing through the strait than at any point by far since the conflict began," Trump told a group of Mideast Gulf diplomats assembled in New York on 22 September to hear his vision for bringing the conflict with Iran to a swift conclusion.
But Trump also told the group that progress on resolving the conflict can wait until after the 3 November US midterm elections, meaning more months of turmoil in what had been promised to be a short conflict.
While crude prices have fallen this week, refined products prices — particularly diesel — are reaching record highs in many markets around the globe. The high costs to consumers has some countries considering more subsidies, and has even spurred the US administration to consider a ban on diesel exports.
China's crude imports rose to 8.97mn b/d in August, up by 6.5pc from July, according to Chinese customs data. South Korea's crude imports dipped to 1.77mn b/d in August, lower by 4pc on the month, data from state-owned KNOC show.
By YouLiang Chay