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

Crude Oil Pulls Back From Session Highs But Remains Supported

Published 2017-12-12, 10:04 a/m
Updated 2017-12-12, 10:08 a/m
© Reuters.  Crude prices retreat but North Sea supply disruptions still support

© Reuters. Crude prices retreat but North Sea supply disruptions still support

Investing.com - Crude oil prices pulled back from session highs remained supported on Tuesday, as the shutdown of a major pipeline in the North Sea sparked fears over supply disruptions, while market participants also focused on this week's U.S. inventory data.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude January contract was down 19 cents or about 0.33% at $57.86 a barrel by 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 GMT), off session highs of $58.55.

Elsewhere, Brent oil for February delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London was up still up 10 cents or about 0.14% at $64.80 a barrel, after climbing to a more than two-year peak of $65.83 earlier in the day.

Prices strengthened after the Forties pipeline, the UK's biggest North Sea oil pipeline which was scheduled to pump 406,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December, was shut down on Monday after cracks were found.

Meanwhile markets participants were looking ahead to the American Petroleum Institute's weekly inventory data due later Tuesday. It will be followed on Wednesday by official data from the Energy Information Administration.

Fears that rising U.S. output would dampen OPEC’s efforts to rid the market of excess supplies have been recently weighing on sentiment, according to market participants.

The producer group, along with some non-OPEC members led by Russia, agreed last week to extend current oil output cuts for a further nine months until the end of 2018.

The deal to cut oil output by 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd) was adopted last winter by OPEC, Russia and nine other global producers. The agreement was due to end in March 2018, having already been extended once.

Elsewhere, gasoline futures were up 0.78% at $1.739 a gallon, while natural gas futures declined 1.73% to $2.777 per million British thermal units.

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.