Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Commodities - Crude Oil Prices Mixed As Market Looks To U.S. Rig Count

Published 2017-09-20, 10:31 p/m
Updated 2017-09-20, 11:20 p/m
© Reuters.  Crude mixed in Asia

© Reuters. Crude mixed in Asia

Investing.com - Crude oil prices were narrowly mixed in Asia with weekly rig count figures in the U.S. later in the day likely providing short-term direction on supply.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for November delivery rose 0.02% to $50.70 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent eased 0.07% to $56.15 a barrel.

Overnight, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday, as bearish data showing U.S. supplies of crude oil rose more than expected was overshadowed by growing expectations that Opec will decide to extend its agreement to cut oil output.

A report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week briefly pared earlier gains amid growing investor optimism on a possible extension to the Opec-led agreement to cut oil output.

Inventories of U.S. crude rose by roughly 4.6m barrels in the week ended Sept. 15, confounding expectations of a rise of about only 3.4m barrels. It was the third weekly build in crude stockpiles.

Gasoline inventories, one of the products that crude is refined into, fell by roughly 2.13m barrels, missing expectations of a draw of 2.14m barrels while distillate stockpiles fell by 5.7m barrels, topping expectations of a decline of 1.6m barrels.

The third-weekly build in US crude stockpiles comes after heavy flooding due to storm Harvey knocked out nearly quarter of the U.S. refining capacity in August, pressuring demand for crude oil, the primary input at refineries.

The bullish start to the week for crude prices follows comments from Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi, in which he said that Iraq and other OPEC members are considering options to its production-cut agreement, including an extension beyond March and a deeper output cut.

In May, Opec and non-Opec members agreed to extend production cuts for a period of nine months until March, but stuck to production cuts of 1.8 million bpd agreed in November last year.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.