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WTI Trades Near One-Month Low Before Supply Data; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the lowest price in more than a month before inventory data that may signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London . Futures were little changed in New York after declining the past eight days, the longest losing streak since 2009. Crude stockpiles probably shrank by 2.5 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg News survey shows. Brent dropped the most in more than two months yesterday, erasing gains made since early June when Islamic militants seized the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. “We now get back to underlying fundamentals and look to the northern hemisphere summer as a driver of demand,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may buy West Texas contracts if prices fall to about $101.50 a barrel. “One of the […]

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Oil Prices Extend Losing Streak Amid Economic Worries

The expected resumption of Libyan crude exports also is pressuring prices. Above, a Libyan oil terminal Reuters U.S. oil prices continued their longest losing streak in 4½ years on Tuesday as investors doubted the strength of the U.S. economy. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $103.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest closing price since June 6. The benchmark for U.S. oil prices marked its seventh straight session of losses, the longest such streak since Dec. 14, 2009. While U.S. employers added jobs at a robust clip in June, gross domestic product growth has remained sluggish. "Prices are affected by the ebbs and flows of overall U.S. economic health," said Carl Larry, an analyst at Oil Outlooks & Opinions. "We’re doing a great job-wise but not so much GDP-wise." In a survey by The Wall Street Journal, analysts expect […]

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Oil prices steady ahead of US stockpiles data

Oil prices were steady Wednesday ahead of the release of figures on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined fuels that will be a key indicator of expected demand. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was down 5 cents at $103.35 a barrel at 0805 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 13 cents to close at $103.40 on Tuesday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was down 46 cents to $108.60 on the ICE exchange in London. Energy Information Administration data for the week ending July 4 is expected to show declines of 3 million barrels in crude oil stocks and of 1 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Oil has been falling steadily, partly because worries about disruptions to the oil supply from Iraq have subsided. Oil […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Set Six-Month Low with Cooler Weather on the Way

Natural-gas prices closed at a new six-month low for a second straight session with cooler weather and replenishing stockpiles sustaining a selloff that’s lasted since mid-June. Prices for the front-month August contract settled down 2.1 cents, or 0.5%, to $4.204 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Jan. 10. Prices dipped to $4.129 in midmorning, the lowest intraday price since Jan. 13. "A brutal few days for the market," said Scott Gettleman, an independent trader in New York. "In the short term it’s a very big move." Prices have fallen 11.7% since June 12, far enough that analyst Jim Ritterbusch advised clients Tuesday to stop pursuing spread trades that rely on rising prices into the fall. One trade put 6,000 contracts up for sale in one block, a sign that one firm may have been liquidating its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Short-Term Energy Outlook

Highlights Unrest in Iraq put upward pressure on world oil prices last month, helping North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices reach their highest daily level of the year at just over $115/barrel (bbl) on June 19. North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices increased from a monthly average of $110/bbl in May to $112/bbl in June. This was the 12th consecutive month in which the average Brent crude oil spot price ranged between $107/bbl and $112/bbl. EIA projects Brent crude oil prices to average $110/bbl in 2014 and $105/bbl in 2015, $2/bbl and $3/bbl higher than projected in last month’s STEO, respectively. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price discount to Brent is expected to average $9/bbl and $10/bbl in 2014 and 2015, respectively. During this year’s April-through-September summer driving season, regular gasoline retail prices are forecast to average $3.66/gallon (gal), 8 cents higher than last year. […]

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Platts Big Five: Is anyone surprised that Iraq tops our list?

Welcome to The Oil Big Five for July 2014, where we list the big issues that are keeping our Platts oil experts busy around the globe. You can find our last posting here , which had the problem of not posting comments for a short time when it first went up. We really appreciate everyone who commented on the blog once it was fixed, though, as well as those who sent us feedback on Twitter. The latest round-up of reader comments can be found here , and be sure to comment again for the follow-up to this post. Here are the biggest oil issues or trends that our editors and experts nominated to be a part of the post this month. 1. Iraq’s political unrest and its energy implications This is almost a gimme, because it’s on everyone’s minds. This isn’t just one issue , though, because there are […]

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Iraqi officials: 50 bodies found south of Baghdad

Iraqi officials say 50 bodies have been discovered outside a city south of Baghdad, many of them blindfolded and with their hands bound. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan Ibrahim says the bodies were discovered Wednesday in an agricultural area outside the city of Hillah. Hillah is a predominantly Shiite city about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad. Ibrahim says an investigation is underway to determine the identities of the dead as well as the circumstances of the killings. The discovery of bullet-riddled bodies was common during the worst days of Iraq’s sectarian bloodletting in 2006 and 2007.

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Militants Seize Oil Field, Expand Syrian Domain

By Sam Dagher DAMASCUS, Syria–Militants from the Sunni extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State have captured Syria’s largest oil field and now hold nearly half of the northeastern province of Deir-Ezzour after monthslong battles with other rebel factions, according to opposition activists, rebels and local residents The fighting has intensified in recent days on the back of gains in neighboring Iraq by the militants, who formerly called themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS. Videos posted on jihadist websites showed black-clad fighters who identified themselves as belonging to the Islamic State standing at the entrance of a facility leading to the site of the Al-Omar oil field in eastern Syria. "They fled like rats," says one of the fighters, referring to members of its rival, the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which captured the field, considered the largest in Syria in terms of production, from […]

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Iraq confirms rebels seized Muthanna chemical arms site

Isis-led Sunni rebels are in control of a disused chemical weapons factory, Iraqi officials have confirmed. In a letter to the UN, Iraq said it would be unable to keep to obligations to destroy its chemical weapons. The Muthanna complex northwest of Baghdad houses remnants of rockets filled with sarin and other deadly nerve agents. The UN and US say the munitions are degraded and the rebels will be unable to make usable chemical arms from them. Commitment on hold In the letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Iraq’s UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said the rebels took over the complex on 11 June, after disarming soldiers who guarded the site. The document stated that Muthanna’s surveillance system showed that there was "looting of some equipment and appliances" at the factory, about 70km (45 miles) north-west of the Iraqi capital. […]

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As Shiite militias return to the fight, Iraqi politicians worry about sectarian war

Mohamed Thaban al Shiblawy, head of Iraq’s powerful Shibil tribe, pledged 2,500 of his best fighters to join government forces in the battle against the al Qaida splinter group known as the Islamic State. A massive paramilitary effort is under way to shore up the beleaguered Iraqi army, but there are concerns that the central government is too weak to keep so many new militiamen under control. HANNAH ALLAM — MCT Related Stories: NAJAF, Iraq — Mohamed Thaban al Shiblawy was prepared for this moment from the time he was a boy, with lessons about the protocols of battle from tribal lore and old photos that show his rifle-toting grandfather astride a horse during the 1920 uprising against the British occupation of Iraq. Shiblawy, 46, is now emir of his ancient tribe, the Shibil, which claims more than 250,000 members and keeps offices near Najaf in an area locals still proudly refer […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple