05-01-2019, 11:12 AM
Oil Prices Dip Further On Expectations Of OPEC Output Raise
Published 1 min ago on 1 min ago By Chika Izuora Lagos Oil prices went down further yesterday on expectations that rising output from the United States and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would offset most of the shortfall expected from U.S. sanctions on Iran, but analysts said markets remained tight. A stutter in China’s factory and servicing industries in April also weighed on crude prices, traders said, as it suggested Asia’s biggest economy is still struggling to regain traction.
Brent crude futures were at $71.75 per barrel down 29 cents, or 0.4 per cent, from their last close, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.35 per barrel, down 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent from their previous settlement. Oil prices surged by around 40 per cent between January and April, lifted by supply cuts led by the Middle East-dominated producer club of OPEC as well as by U.S. sanctions on producers Iran and Venezuela.
But prices came under downward pressure late last week after U.S. President Donald Trump openly pressured OPEC and its de-facto leader Saudi Arabia to raise output to meet the supply shortfall caused by the tightening Iran sanctions. Stephen Innes, head of trading at SPI Asset Management, said the producer group “will want to avoid at all cost oil prices surging to levels that will trigger demand devastation, (while) it is clearly in OPEC’s best interest to maintain a solid floor on prices”.
Read More at: https://leadership.ng/2019/05/01/oil-pri...put-raise/
Published 1 min ago on 1 min ago By Chika Izuora Lagos Oil prices went down further yesterday on expectations that rising output from the United States and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would offset most of the shortfall expected from U.S. sanctions on Iran, but analysts said markets remained tight. A stutter in China’s factory and servicing industries in April also weighed on crude prices, traders said, as it suggested Asia’s biggest economy is still struggling to regain traction.
Brent crude futures were at $71.75 per barrel down 29 cents, or 0.4 per cent, from their last close, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.35 per barrel, down 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent from their previous settlement. Oil prices surged by around 40 per cent between January and April, lifted by supply cuts led by the Middle East-dominated producer club of OPEC as well as by U.S. sanctions on producers Iran and Venezuela.
But prices came under downward pressure late last week after U.S. President Donald Trump openly pressured OPEC and its de-facto leader Saudi Arabia to raise output to meet the supply shortfall caused by the tightening Iran sanctions. Stephen Innes, head of trading at SPI Asset Management, said the producer group “will want to avoid at all cost oil prices surging to levels that will trigger demand devastation, (while) it is clearly in OPEC’s best interest to maintain a solid floor on prices”.
Read More at: https://leadership.ng/2019/05/01/oil-pri...put-raise/