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Brent Falls From Near 3-month High With OPEC in Focus

-Brent crude oil prices fell slightly in London Tuesday after they briefly hit a near three-month high in the previous session. Brent crude for January delivery fell 4 cents to $111.41 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil January futures were up 24 cents, or 0.3%, at $94.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Both contracts received momentum on Monday after manufacturing data confirmed signs of economic expansion in the world’s two largest oil-consuming nations, China and the U.S. Comment from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ ministers, arriving for the group’s meeting in Vienna, appeared to underline expectations for no change in OPEC’s output policy. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, told reporters “the market is in the best situation it can be,” and said rising global oil demand could accommodate extra Iranian and Iraqi barrels. As OPEC’s largest producer, […]

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Oil rises above $94 ahead of OPEC meeting

– The price of oil extended gains to rise above $94 a barrel Tuesday, ahead of an OPEC meeting and bolstered by encouraging manufacturing data from the world’s top two economies. Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery was up 29 cents to $94.11 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.10 to close at $93.82 on Monday. Investors are looking to a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on Wednesday for an update on production levels. Analysts at JBC Energy in Vienna estimate that OPEC’s crude output fell to 29.44 million barrels a day in November, the lowest since May 2011 and the third straight month with output below 30 million. Most of the difference was attributed to production and export snags in Libya, where political volatility and the effects of the […]

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WTI Oil Gains a Third Day as U.S. Crude Stockpiles Seen Falling

West Texas Intermediate rose for a third day amid forecasts crude stockpiles dropped last week for the first time since September in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures climbed as much as 0.5 percent in New York after data yesterday showed U.S. manufacturing accelerated more than estimated. Crude inventories shrank by 700,000 barrels, the first decline in 11 weeks, according to a Bloomberg News survey before a government report tomorrow. The global oil market is “in equilibrium,” Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries prepared to discuss its production quota in Vienna. “Economic recovery is with us,” said Jonathan Barratt , the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin in Sydney who forecasts investors may sell WTI contracts at $94.50 a barrel. “The inventory builds scared the market,” he said, predicting OPEC will maintain its output target. WTI for January delivery […]

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Distillate Fuel Supplies Drop to Five-Year Low in Survey

U.S. supplies of crude oil probably fell for the first time in 11 weeks as refineries boosted operating rates and fuel production. Inventories dropped by 700,000 barrels, or 0.2 percent, to 390.7 million barrels in the seven days ended Nov. 29, based on the median of eight analyst estimates before an Energy Information Administration report on Dec. 4. Six respondents forecast a decline and two projected a gain. Refineries raised their operating rate to above 90 percent last week for the first time since September, the survey showed. The crude supply rose to the most since June in the prior week as domestic production climbed to more than 8 million barrels a day. “This report will finally show a drop in crude supplies,” said John Kilduff , a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “We’ll be seeing de-stocking through the year.” […]

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Natural Gas Pulls Back After Seven Sessions of Gains

-Prices decline as traders cash in profits after seven days of gains –January futures down 0.96% at $3.916/mmBtu –Forecasts call for colder-than-normal temperatures this week By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas futures slipped after seven-straight days of gains, as traders who had bet on higher prices cashed in their profits. Natural gas for January delivery fell 3.8 cents, or 0.96%, to $3.916 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Price settled at $3.954/mmBtu Friday, their highest price since March, capping off a 10.4% gain for the month of November. Forecasts for cooler-than-normal temperatures have boosted expectations that demand for natural-gas-powered heating in homes and offices would rise. About half of all U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating source, according to the Energy Information Administration. The central and western U.S. is expected to see especially cold temperatures, driven by Arctic air masses, in […]

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OPEC Will Probably Maintain Current Output Target, Delegates Say

OPEC will probably stick with its current production target as demand for its crude next year will be at a similar level, said three delegates from the group. The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will make that decision in two days, when ministers meet in Vienna, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions are private. The three delegates spoke to Bloomberg before Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi arrived at his hotel in Vienna. “The market is doing well for the past two years, price is doing well, supply and demand in equilibrium, inventories are in the right position,” al-Naimi told reporters. “The market is in the best condition it can be.” Rising supply from outside OPEC, including surging U.S. shale oil production, has coincided this year with disruptions in some members, such as Libya and Iraq , while Iranian exports remain curtailed because of […]

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OPEC Inaction Masks Looming Supply Glut in 2014: Energy Markets

Even with OPEC forecast to keep its output quota unchanged at a meeting this week, falling oil demand and prospects for increased supply from some member states mean the group’s leader, Saudi Arabia, will have to cut production anyway. The kingdom and its allies Kuwait , Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will need to produce about 2 million barrels a day less in 2014 to prevent a glut, the Centre for Global Energy Studies predicts. That’s equal to annual revenue of about $80 billion at today’s prices. The 12-nation group meets in Vienna on Dec. 4 and will reaffirm its collective limit of 30 million barrels a day, according to 22 of 24 analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg News . OPEC is already producing above target, even with output disrupted in member states Iraq , Libya and Iran . Demand for the group’s crude will decline by […]

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Limitations of nuclear deal temper Iranians' enthusiasm

It was a flourishing packing business in Iran’s historic city of Isfahan, but the last two years of harsh economic sanctions brought the family enterprise to its knees. Owner Gholam Dolatmardian struggled to raise the funds to keep going but finally succumbed to the inevitable, laying off his 100-strong workforce and closing the doors of the once prosperous factory. The prospects for a revival of his business and those of thousands of others may depend on an interim nuclear accord reached between Iran and world powers last week. The deal has allowed those Iranians seeking greater foreign contact and the economic opportunities it brings to see a glimmer of hope for the first time in years. But Iranians’ enthusiasm about the accord has been tempered by its complexity and expected gradual implementation, which puts off relief from restrictions on banking, trade and international travel that ordinary Iranians […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Limitations of nuclear deal temper Iranians’ enthusiasm

It was a flourishing packing business in Iran’s historic city of Isfahan, but the last two years of harsh economic sanctions brought the family enterprise to its knees. Owner Gholam Dolatmardian struggled to raise the funds to keep going but finally succumbed to the inevitable, laying off his 100-strong workforce and closing the doors of the once prosperous factory. The prospects for a revival of his business and those of thousands of others may depend on an interim nuclear accord reached between Iran and world powers last week. The deal has allowed those Iranians seeking greater foreign contact and the economic opportunities it brings to see a glimmer of hope for the first time in years. But Iranians’ enthusiasm about the accord has been tempered by its complexity and expected gradual implementation, which puts off relief from restrictions on banking, trade and international travel that ordinary Iranians […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple