- Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent holds steady
6 September (Argus) — Ice Brent crude futures remained largely steady in early Asian trading today, as the market digests the impact of the Opec+ decision to delay its production increase and a steep drop in US crude stocks.
At 04:00 GMT the Ice front-month November Brent contract was at $72.71/bl, up by 2¢/bl from its settlement on 5 September when the contract ended 1¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month October crude contract was at $69.15/bl, unchanged from its settlement on 5 September when the contract ended 5¢/bl lower.
Oil prices fell on 5 September to their lowest level since June 2023 on concerns about oil demand in China and the US.
Opec+ members have agreed to delay a plan to start increasing output by two months, following a virtual meeting on 5 September. Eight members of the group — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — are now scheduled to start unwinding 2.2mn b/d of "voluntary" crude production cuts from December over a 12-month period, the Opec Secretariat said in a statement. They previously planned to start unwinding in October.
The delay to the output increase follows a steep fall in oil prices in recent days after worse than expected economic data in China and the US, and despite a continuing oil blockade in Libya. The Opec statement did not specify the reason for the decision, nor did it make any note of market fundamentals.
US crude inventories fell by 6.9mn bl last week on a sizable drop in the US Gulf coast, the EIA reported on 5 September. US crude stocks fell to 418.3mn bl in the week ended 30 August, down from 425.2mn bl a week earlier. Stocks are still 1.7mn bl higher than the same week last year. Inventories on the US Gulf coast fell by 5.7mn bl to 234.4mn bl, the third-largest weekly drop year to date. This is also the lowest level of inventories since the week ended 19 January. Stocks at the Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma during the week fell by 1.1mn bl to 26.4mn bl, which was 1mn bl lower than the same week a year earlier.
- Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent holds steady
6 September (Argus) — Ice Brent crude futures remained largely steady in early Asian trading today, as the market digests the impact of the Opec+ decision to delay its production increase and a steep drop in US crude stocks.
At 04:00 GMT the Ice front-month November Brent contract was at $72.71/bl, up by 2¢/bl from its settlement on 5 September when the contract ended 1¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month October crude contract was at $69.15/bl, unchanged from its settlement on 5 September when the contract ended 5¢/bl lower.
Oil prices fell on 5 September to their lowest level since June 2023 on concerns about oil demand in China and the US.
Opec+ members have agreed to delay a plan to start increasing output by two months, following a virtual meeting on 5 September. Eight members of the group — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — are now scheduled to start unwinding 2.2mn b/d of "voluntary" crude production cuts from December over a 12-month period, the Opec Secretariat said in a statement. They previously planned to start unwinding in October.
The delay to the output increase follows a steep fall in oil prices in recent days after worse than expected economic data in China and the US, and despite a continuing oil blockade in Libya. The Opec statement did not specify the reason for the decision, nor did it make any note of market fundamentals.
US crude inventories fell by 6.9mn bl last week on a sizable drop in the US Gulf coast, the EIA reported on 5 September. US crude stocks fell to 418.3mn bl in the week ended 30 August, down from 425.2mn bl a week earlier. Stocks are still 1.7mn bl higher than the same week last year. Inventories on the US Gulf coast fell by 5.7mn bl to 234.4mn bl, the third-largest weekly drop year to date. This is also the lowest level of inventories since the week ended 19 January. Stocks at the Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma during the week fell by 1.1mn bl to 26.4mn bl, which was 1mn bl lower than the same week a year earlier.
By Rhalain Reyes