Commodities
Reuters: crude oil futures prices fall after inventory data release
Oil prices turned down after the U.S. Department of Energy unexpectedly reported an increase in oil inventories during the reporting week. Crude oil futures prices lost ground after the decision by the OPEC+ alliance to slightly increase oil production, Reuters reported.
Crude oil futures chart – what’s happening in the market?
At the time of writing, in September, WTI crude oil futures were trading down $2.52, or 2.7%, at $91.90 a barrel.
October Brent crude oil futures were down $2.50, or 2.5%, to $98.04 a barrel.
September gasoline futures on the NYMEX fell 3.2% to $2,959 a gallon, while September heating oil futures traded near the flat line, at $3,381 a gallon.
Crude oil futures chart shows September natural gas futures fell 1.1% to $7,623 per million Btu.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Wednesday a 4.5 million barrel increase in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories for the week of July 23-29, while gasoline inventories increased by 200,000 barrels. Distillate stocks were down 2.4 million barrels, the agency said in a report.
Analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights had on average expected crude stocks to decline by 1.7 million barrels. They also projected that gasoline and distillate inventories would fall by 1.5 million barrels and 500,000 barrels, respectively.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a 2.2 million barrel increase in oil inventories and a 204,000-barrel decrease in gasoline inventories.
“Increased oil imports as well as reduced refinery utilization to its lowest level since May resulted in a strong increase in oil inventories during the reporting week. The increase in inventories outweighed the OPEC+ decision,” which had previously boosted oil prices, said Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler.
Meanwhile, fluctuations in anticipated gasoline demand may have led to a reduction in oil refining and a slight increase in gasoline inventories in the reporting week, while distillate inventories fell again, the expert said.
(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 — 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.
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.
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