Commodities
Oil prices dip on China demand concerns; set for weekly loss
Investing.com– Oil prices slipped lower Friday, heading for a weekly loss amid persistent concerns over slowing demand in top importer China, while sentiment was also dented by concerns over trade ructions with the U.S.
At 08:10 ET (12:10 GMT), fell 0.1% to $85.01 a barrel, while fell 0.3% to $81.09 a barrel.
Both contracts were down between 0.2% and 0.6% this week.
China demand concerns weigh amid few stimulus signals
Concerns over sluggish demand in the world’s biggest oil importer remained front and center, following softer-than-expected for the second quarter.
The readings came after data last week showed a decline in China’s oil imports in June.
Weak readings on the Chinese economy also came as the Third Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party, which began earlier in the week, yielded few cues on plans for any more stimulus measures.
Sentiment towards China was further dented by reports earlier this week suggesting that the U.S. was planning stricter trade restrictions on the country’s technology sector- a move that stands to attract retaliatory measures from Beijing. Speculation over a Donald Trump presidency also further soured sentiment towards China, given that Trump has maintained largely protectionist policies.
Trump also said that he will push for increasing U.S. oil production – a move that could herald higher supply in the coming years.
Tighter markets, rate cut hopes offer oil some support
But expectations of tighter oil markets in the near-term offered crude some support. U.S. shrank for a third straight week as travel and fuel demand picked up in the summer months.
The prospect of interest rate rate cuts by the Federal Reserve also buoyed crude, given that such a scenario presents better conditions for economic growth and oil demand.
Outside the U.S., continued geopolitical ructions between Hamas and Israel, coupled with Houthi aggression in the Red Sea, kept some risk premia priced into oil markets.
“The oil market is once again relatively rangebound,”said analysts at ING, in a note. “To the upside, growing Chinese demand concerns are capping the market, following a raft of data earlier this week suggesting a softer demand picture. To the downside, expectations of a tight market through the third quarter continue to provide a floor to prices.”
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
Investing.com — Oil prices settled lower Friday, ending the week with a loss as weaker U.S. nonfarm payrolls stoked concerns about an economic-led slowdown in crude demand.
At 2:30 p.m. ET (1430 GMT), the futures (WTI) traded fell 2.1% to settle at $67.67 a barrel, while contract fell 2.2% to $71.06 per barrel.
U.S. economic slowdown worries resurface after weak jobs report
The US economy added fewer jobs than anticipated in August, but rose from a sharply revised July figure, according to Labor Department data that could factor into the Federal Reserve’s next policy decisions.
Nonfarm payrolls came in at 142,000 last month, up from a downwardly-revised mark of 89,000 in July. Economists had called for a reading of 164,000, up from the initial July mark of 114,000.
Following the release, bets that the Fed will introduce a deeper 50 basis-point rate cut — rather than a shallower 25 basis-point reduction — increased.
Concerns about the demand come just a day after OPEC+ said it had agreed to postpone a planned increase in oil production for October and November.
U.S., Europe working on Iran sanctions
Geopolitical tensions ratcheted up on Friday after the U.S. and Europe they were working on sanctions to impose on Iran after the Tehran sent missiles to Russia.
The U.S. had previously warned Iran about transferring missiles to Russia, saying it would represent a major escalation in Iran’s support of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs adjusted its expectations for OPEC+ oil production saying it now expects three months of production increases starting from December instead of October, the bank said in a note on Friday.
OPEC+ has agreed to delay a planned oil output increase for October and November, the producers group said on Thursday after crude prices hit their lowest in nine months, adding it could further pause or reverse the hikes if needed.
However Goldman Sachs maintained its range of $70-85 per barrel and a December 2025 Brent forecast at $74 per barrel.
The investment bank expects the effects of a modest reduction in OPEC+ supply in the upcoming months to be counterbalanced by easing effects from the current softness in China’s demand and faster-than-expected recovery of Libya’s supply.
“We still see the risks to our $70-85 range as skewed to the downside given high spare capacity, and downside risks to demand from weakness in China and potential trade tensions,” Goldman Sachs said.
Brent crude futures were down $1.63, or 2.24%, to $71.06 a barrel on Friday, their lowest level since December 2021. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.48 on Friday, or 2.14%, to $67.67, their lowest since June 2023. [O/R]
Investing.com — Strategists at Citi Research said oil prices could decline to around $60 per barrel by 2025, citing a significant market surplus as the primary driver.
While recent supply disruptions in Libya and a delayed production cut unwinding by OPEC+ have offered short-term support for Brent prices in the $70-72 range, Citi views this as temporary.
“At the time of writing, markets have not reacted to the OPEC+ decision, with Brent around flat to the 4 September close. Still, the Libyan situation could take months rather than a week to resolve, strategists wrote.
They highlight the likelihood of a strong market surplus emerging next year, pushing prices lower.
“We recommend selling on a bounce toward ~$80 Brent, as we look ahead to moves down to the $60 range in 2025 as a sizeable market surplus emerges,” the note states.
OPEC+ has delayed the start of its planned production cut unwind from October 2024 to December 2024, with the process now set to conclude by the end of 2025. This decision comes in response to recent market weakness and price declines, despite ongoing disruptions to Libyan oil supplies and broader economic concerns in the U.S. and China.
Separately, Bank of America’s Commodities Research team has revised down its price forecast to $75 per barrel for the second half of 2024, down from nearly $90, and for 2025, reduced from $80.
The team cites concerns about growing global oil inventories despite assuming OPEC+ will delay planned production increases. They note that weaker demand growth, combined with record OPEC+ spare capacity exceeding 5 million barrels per day, has dimmed the outlook for oil prices.
“In effect, we now see Brent oil prices moving from the top toward the middle of our unchanged $60-80/bbl medium-term range faster than previously warned,” BofA strategists said. This surplus in capacity, along with slower demand, also reduces the risk of price spikes from potential geopolitical disruptions.
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