Oil Holds Above $50 Amid Uncertainty Over Russia Supply Stance
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Oct 18, 2016
Oil prices jumped as much as 3 percent on Monday, with Brent hitting a one-year peak, after Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia both said a deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members like Russian Federation in curbing crude output was possible.
West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was at $50.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 11 cents, at 10:09 a.m.in Hong Kong.
Brent for December settlement rose 9 cents to $52.50 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Higher production from Russian Federation and Kazhakstan had led to a 0.5m b/d jump in non-OPEC supplies, even as OPEC's own supply hit an all-time high of 33.64m b/d after a rise of 160,000 versus the prior month. In producers' previous meeting in Algeria, OPEC announced an output cut for all of its members to 32.5 MMbpd-33 MMbpd (million barrels per day).
The iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil total return Index exchange-traded fund (OIL) climbed nearly 1.2%.
Benchmark oil for September rose "as market re-balancing continued and participants anticipated an OPEC supply cut", IEA said in its report.
In a report released in August, the IEA lowered its forecast of 2016 growth by 40,000 bpd to stand at 1.2 million bpd.
An output freeze or cut is probably the only proper move to preserve stability in the global energy market, Putin said Monday at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates held supply at or near historic highs; Iran sustained volumes at 3.7 million barrels per day, at pre-sanctions levels.
OPEC's September production number is its highest monthly number since 2008.
"Yesterday, when the President (Vladimir Putin) was talking here, I think he answered that question", Novak said through an interpreter during the panel discussion.
In September, members of the The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) voted to cut production for the first time in eight years.
But low prices have been hurting the oil producing nations, forcing them to slash spending.
Such a deal would be "self-defeating if it were to target sustainably higher oil prices", Goldman said. Oil is trading near US$53 a barrel, less than half the price hit in mid-2014.
Saudi Arabia said Monday that efforts to get big oil producers to agree the details of the supply cut are on track.
