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Oil Retreats Slightly, But Holds Near Three-Week Highs

Oil futures retreated slightly Tuesday but held near three-week highs on expectations that strong demand from U.S. refineries would continue to shrink domestic oil supplies. Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled down 17 cents, or 0.2%, at $104.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The August contract expired at settlement Tuesday. The more-actively traded September contract settled down 47 cents, or 0.5%, at $102.39 a barrel. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell 35 cents, or 0.3%, to $107.33 a barrel. U.S. crude-oil supplies have fallen for three straight weeks as refineries have run at unusually high rates. U.S. refineries used 16.6 million barrels of oil a day in the week ended July 11, a record high in U.S. Energy Information Administration data going back to August 1982. The EIA is due to release its data for the week ended July 18 on Wednesday. Analysts […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI Falls for Second Day as Fuel Stockpiles Expand; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day after an industry report showed gasoline supplies expanded in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London. Futures dropped as much as 0.6 percent in New York. Gasoline inventories increased by 3.6 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to have reported yesterday. Stockpiles probably rose by 1 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before government data today. Brent traded near its lowest closing price in two days amid speculation that further sanctions on Russia over the downing of a Malaysian Air jet will have no impact on energy supplies. “Tensions related to Ukraine seem to be fading a bit, with clear signs that the separatists are willing to help, and with no new sanctions on Russia introduced,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil falls to near $102 amid Gaza peace efforts

The price of oil retreated to near $102 per barrel on Wednesday amid a new push for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestine and after Europe imposed additional sanctions on Russia that fell short of a heavy hit. U.S. benchmark oil for September delivery was down 34 cents to $102.07 a barrel at 0850 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 47 cents to $102.39 on Tuesday. Brent crude for September delivery, a benchmark for international oils, was up 9 cents to $107.43 on the ICE exchange in London. The price of oil has been kept high after a civilian jetliner was last week shot out of the sky over part of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists and as Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip added to risks of instability in the Middle East. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Fall to 8-Month Low on Mild Weather

Natural-gas prices fell to an eight-month low on Tuesday, as a mild summer and growing stockpiles of the fuel discouraged investors. The latest forecasts indicate mild temperatures extending into what is usually the hottest period of the year, which would damp demand for natural gas used to generate electricity for air conditioning. Natural gas for August delivery was down 7.7 cents, or 2%, to $3.772 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It is the lowest price since Nov. 22, 2013. "The weather has not been particularly off the charts," said Ed Kevelson, head of over-the-counter energy markets at brokerage Newedge USA, which is owned by Societe Generale. Even forecasts for August are beginning to call for lower-than-usual temperatures, he said. In addition to the lack of heat, continued gains in supplies are driving prices […]

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OPEC’s Two-Decade Ride on Global Growth Stalls: Chart of the Day

For the past two decades, growth in the global economy spelled higher revenues for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Not any more. The CHART OF THE DAY shows how last year was the first since 1993 that the value of OPEC’s total crude exports didn’t track the direction of global gross domestic product. The bottom panel shows how the group supplying about 40 percent of the world’s oil fetched lower average prices and also shipped fewer barrels year on year. Production among OPEC’s 12 members fell 2.5 percent to average 31.6 million barrels a day last year, data from OPEC’s Annual Statistic Bulletin showed on July 18. Libya’s output slumped 31 percent amid political protests at oilfields and export terminals. Output from Iran , whose exports are subject to international sanctions, fell by 4.4 percent. The group’s members also consumed about 1 percent a day more domestically. “It’s […]

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Sanctions relief for Iran extended

The U.S. Treasury Department said sanctions relief on Iran, which includes oil export provisions, is extended through November. Iran under the terms of a November 2013 agreement secured relief from some of the sanctions targeting its energy sector in exchange for a pledge to cut back on its nuclear research activity. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said Iran has converted its uranium stockpiles into a form that’s difficult for use in a nuclear weapon. The Treasury Department said members of the P5-plus-1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany — agreed with Iran to continue moving forward under the terms of the November 2013 joint plan of action. "The U.S. government has extended through Nov. 24, 2014, the sanctions relief provided for in the joint plan of action," the Treasury Department said Monday. Iran is limited to exporting approximately 1 million […]

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Iraq: Death toll from Baghdad attack rises to 31

Iraqi officials say the death toll from a late night suicide attack targeting a police checkpoint in Baghdad has climbed to 31 people, most of them civilians. The bomber had rammed his explosives-packed car into a checkpoint in Baghdad’s northern neighborhood of Kazimiyah where people lined up in cars for security checks en route to a revered Shiite shrine during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Police officials said Wednesday that along with 31 killed, the explosion also left at least 58 people wounded. Initial reports had 21 killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to talk to media. Baghdad has been on edge since the Sunni militant blitz led by the Islamic State extremist group seized large swaths of northern and western Iraq.

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Libya May Offer Deeper Crude Discounts After Sale Fails

Libya is preparing a new pricing strategy for its crude exports that may include further discounts after a sales offer last week failed because potential buyers offered “unacceptable” prices, according to state-run National Oil Corp. Libya plans to offer different crude prices before the end of next month that will compensate customers for the additional risk of loading oil in the country, Ahmed Shawki, marketing director at National Oil, said by phone from Tripoli today. The country reduced July export prices for seven grades of crude by as much as $1.90 a barrel, according to a price list from National Oil obtained by Bloomberg News on July 18. “Tenders were not awarded because the price was unacceptable,” Shawki said. “They were meant to test the market as we prepare a pricing strategy.” Exports of oil from Libya were disrupted after political feuding closed oilfields and export terminals a year […]

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Angola’s Goal to Rival Nigerian Oil Output Aided by Eni

Eni SpA (ENI) crews in Angola, Africa ’s second-largest crude oil producer, upgraded a production vessel for new pumping this year as the southwest African country targets output rivaling its bigger competitor, Nigeria. Eni plans to start production within five months as operator of Block 15-06’s West Hub fields, estimated to hold reserves of 200 million barrels, and boost flows to 80,000 barrels a day, documents on the Rome-based company’s website show. The block’s East Hub development is due to pump about 49,000 barrels a day after starting in 2016, the documents say. The block, 350 kilometers (217 miles) northwest of Luanda, the capital, is one of eight offshore projects Petroleum Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos is counting on to help raise production to 2 million barrels a day by next year from 1.66 million last month. That compares with Nigeria’s 2.15 million barrels daily. One of the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple