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Oil prices fall on oversupply concerns, weak economic data

SINGAPORE Oil prices fell on Tuesday on worries over a global glut, while surveys showing a contraction in manufacturing activity in China and Japan also dragged on market sentiment. An expected drawdown in U.S. crude stocks, however, put a floor under prices. Brent crude was down 5 cents at $63.29 a barrel as of 0651 GMT, after closing the previous session up 32 cents. U.S. crude for August delivery fell 14 cents to $60.24 a barrel. The July contract, which expired on Monday, closed up 7 cents at $59.68 a barrel. "I think the Japan and China PMI figures are weighing on the market," said Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer at Sydney’s Ayers Alliance. China and Japan are Asia’s two biggest oil importers. The HSBC/Markit Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged up to 49.6 in June, a three-month high, from 49.2 in May, but remained below the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices End Slightly Higher

An oil drilling rig in Port Angeles, Wash. Oil prices eked out a gain Monday as investors weighed concerns about ample crude-oil supplies against hopes that Greek debt negotiations would succeed. Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $59.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The July contract expired at settlement Monday. The more-actively traded August contract settled up 41 cents, or 0.7%, at $60.38 a barrel. Brent, the global benchmark, rose 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $63.34 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. oil prices have hovered near $60 a barrel for weeks as investors weigh the currently oversupplied market against growing demand and cutbacks in new drilling. The physical market for crude oil remains weaker than many analysts expected, damping some investors’ hopes that prices would recover quickly this summer. “The second quarter of 2015 is winding down […]

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Crude Oil Gains on Speculation Inventories Fell for Eighth Week

Crude oil rose on speculation U.S. inventories fell for an eighth week, the longest stretch of declines in seven years. Crude stockpiles decreased by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended June 19, according to a Bloomberg survey before Wednesday’s government report. Prices also gained amid optimism Greece’s debt crisis will be resolved. “We are looking ahead to the inventory report already,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “We have a good economy ahead and it’s not going to be upset by a Greek default. It’s a macro play at the moment.” Oil’s rebound from a six-year low has faltered amid speculation that an advance of almost 40 percent since March is spurring global supply. Investors are watching a June 30 deadline for Iran and six other nations to reach a nuclear deal that could lift oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Natural Gas Drops on Cooler Weather Forecasts

By Timothy Puko Natural gas prices posted their biggest drop in more than three weeks on Monday, on signs of cooler weather and softer-than-expected demand ahead. Prices for the front-month July contract settled down 8.3 cents, or 3%, at $2.733 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the largest one-day percentage loss in more than three weeks and the lowest settlement since June 8. The contract fell as soon as electronic trading opened Sunday evening and drifted lower for most of Monday as traders checked weather forecasts on the first day of summer for the Northern Hemisphere. Weather updates showed cool temperatures moving into the Midwest by Thursday and then pushing across the rest of the eastern states. Chicago’s high temperatures are likely to be four to seven degrees Fahrenheit below normal, and then the weekend will bring even cooler weather, eight to […]

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‘Missing barrels’ may hold new oil demand

The sea of crude oil drowning markets may be only half as deep as an influential estimate suggests. The Paris-based International Energy Agency, an alliance of 29 oil-importing nations including the United States, has contributed to the downturn in oil prices with its estimates that the global supply of oil is outpacing demand by about 2 million barrels per day, thanks to sluggish growth in fuel consumption by developing nations and a U.S. production boom. That imbalance is the main reason crude prices are 40 percent lower than a year ago. While there’s little dispute the world is producing more oil than it needs, independent analyses suggest the agency’s regular reports understate how much oil the world uses every day, and therefore exaggerate the size of the glut. Analysts reached the conclusion by examining what the agency calls its “miscellaneous to balance” figure, designed to reconcile its estimate of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New International Energy Statistics.

The Eia has finally updated their International Energy Statistics with data through February 2015. All data in the charts below are Crude + Condensate and is in thousand barrels per day with the last data point February 2015. World C+C dropped 477,000 bpd in January and another 65,000 bpd in February for a total decline of 542,000 bpd. World C+C stood at 79,160,000 barrels per day in February. Non OPEC C+C declined 244,000 bpd in January and another 100,000 bpd in February for a total decline of 344,000 since December. Non-OPEC C+C production stood at 46,656,000 bpd in February. OPEC C+C OPEC C+C, in February 2015 stood at 32,504,000 bpd, down 1,451,000 bpd from its peak in April 2012. However according to the OPEC MOMR their crude only is up 1,000,000 bpd from February to May. United States According to the EIA’s International Energy Statistics US C+C production, in […]

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Syrian Kurds, on the offensive, push deeper into Islamic State territory

BEIRUT Kurdish-led forces advanced on Monday deep into territory in Syria held by Islamic State, showing new momentum after they unexpectedly swiftly seized a border crossing from the jihadists last week. The Kurds, aided by U.S.-led air strikes and smaller Syrian rebel groups, had pushed to within 7 km (4 miles) of Ain Issa, a town 50 km (30 miles) north of Islamic State’s de facto capital Raqqa city, said Redur Xelil, spokesman for the Kurdish forces. The rapid advance into Raqqa province has defied expectations of a protracted battle between the Kurdish YPG group and Islamic State fighters, who waged a four-month battle for the border town of Kobani, where the Kurds finally defeated the jihadists in January. Raqqa is the main seat of power in Syria for Islamic State, the group also known as ISIS or ISIL, which has proclaimed a caliphate to rule over all Muslims […]

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Iran, West Say Deadline on Nuclear Talks Won’t Block Deal

LUXEMBOURG—Iranian and Western officials said they may not seal a final nuclear deal by the June 30 deadline but insisted they are committed to trying to unblock the remaining obstacles during talks in coming days. The comments, made after talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his counterparts from the U.K., France and Germany on the sidelines of a European Union meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, underscore recent warnings that the nuclear talks have stalled as the deadline approaches. Senior Iranian and Western officials have clashed publicly over key details of a final deal in recent days, although diplomats involved in talks have said there is little sign the negotiations could collapse. The Obama administration has long said it didn’t want the nuclear talks to drift beyond June 30, arguing that the obstacles to a final nuclear deal could grow over time. However, the U.S. does have some […]

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Saudi crude oil stocks likely to draw down: Barclays

Saudi Arabia’s domestic crude consumption is expected to pick up strongly going into the summer season, but with the kingdom intent on meeting global oil demand by keeping production high, it is likely to draw on its stocks at home and abroad, analysts at Barclays Capital said in a research note Monday. "To meet the incremental call at a time when the kingdom’s domestic requirements are set to increase as well, raises the possibility of a draw down on the kingdom’s crude and product stocks, in our view", Barclays said. Saudi crude production has averaged 9.9 million b/d for the year up to April, up 3% year on year, Barclays said, citing the latest data released Thursday by the Riyadh-based Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI). Saudi wellhead production was stable at 10.308 million b/d in April, while exports dropped by 2% to 7.737 million b/d compared with March. Article […]

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Iran’s oil output goals likely unrealistic because of risk, report says

Iran’s ambitions to produce 4 million barrels a day of oil and 1 million b/d of condensate by 2018 are likely unrealistic because US and European banks and companies are reluctant to take on high-risk investments, according to a report a Washington-based think tank will release Tuesday. "A more realistic assessment would be an expansion of up to 800,000 b/d within six months and a major oil output rebound only after 2016, though even this pace would put Iran on course for a structural shift and acceleration from the current modest pace of economic growth," the Center for a New American Security report states. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran’s oil minister, has said once sanctions are lifted, production would climb by 1 million b/d, to 3.8 million b/d within six months, and to 4 million b/d by 2018. The report claims it is unlikely that Iran’s crude oil capacity — […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple