(Bloomberg)
Oil steadied just below $67 a barrel as Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said an OPEC agreement to raise production is “ inevitable.”
Futures in New York rose 0.5 percent after a 1.4 percent increase in the past three sessions. After talks in Moscow last night, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said Thursday he expects OPEC to reach a deal to gradually boost output. His Russian counterpart Alexander Novak said they agree on the need for an increase, but the volume and timing of the extra production are still under discussion.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will meet next week in Vienna at what’s likely to be a contentious summit. Saudi Arabia and Russia are facing opposition from Iraq, Iran and Venezuela on their proposal to relax output caps, while Washington continues to criticize the cartel for boosting prices. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later Thursday.
“Those in the know might get a hint as early as today — the topic will surely come up between President Putin and the Saudi crown prince as they watch their countries’ teams in today’s opening game of the football World Cup,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd. in London.
West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery traded at $66.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 30 cents, at 12:22 p.m. London time. The contract climbed 28 cents to $66.64 on Wednesday. Total volume traded Thursday was about 21 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent futures for August settlement traded at $76.80 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, up 6 cents. The contract advanced 86 cents on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $9.97 premium to WTI for the same month.
Crude rallied to a three-year high in May, and subsequently lost steam as Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled they may raise output. Despite their proposal, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized OPEC for inflating prices. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency said Iran and Venezuela could lose almost 30 percent of their output by the end of next year due to U.S. sanctions and economic upheaval, requiring extra supplies from OPEC’s Gulf members.
Saudi Arabia is mulling various different scenarios to raise supplies. One proposal envisages a single hike of just 500,000 barrels a day. Another would see an immediate increase of 500,000 barrels followed by a similar addition in the fourth quarter. The kingdom has also shared ideas that float an increase of about 600,000 to 700,000 barrels a day.
In the U.S., government data showed crude stockpiles declined by 4.14 million barrels last week, steeper than estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The drop also ran counter to an industry report a day earlier showing an increase. Gasoline and distillates also slid last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Meanwhile, crude production rose to 10.9 million barrels a day, topping 10 million every week since early February.
Other oil-market news:
Two of Libya’s biggest oil ports — Es Sider and Ras Lanuf — stopped loading crude after armed forces clashed nearby, taking more barrels off the market just as OPEC mulls proposals to boost production, according to people familiar with the matter. Next week’s OPEC meeting with its partners will lead to an announcement to increase oil production, according to Marwan Younes, chief investment officer of Massar Capital Management. Still, volumes may not change quickly, he said. Gasoline futures dropped 0.4 percent to $2.116 a gallon, after gaining 1.7 percent on Wednesday.
Share This: