Light, sweet crude oil prices for September delivery fell 25¢ on Aug. 9 to settle under $43/bbl on the New York market pending release of the weekly US government report on oil and product supplies.
The slight drop followed a session in which oil prices settled higher by more than $1/bbl on both New York and London markets on Aug. 8. The price jump came after Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al Sada, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the cartel would hold informal talks in September.
Those talks are expected Sept. 26-28 on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria (OGJ Online, Aug. 8, 2016).
An initiative seeking a production freeze pact by OPEC and non-OPEC members was rejected during April talks in Qatar. Analysts and traders appear skeptical that the upcoming informal September talks will result in any coherent efforts to support oil prices.
BMI Research analysts issued a note saying, “Lost credibility will take time to rebuild and, given the increasing headwinds to physical intervention, the group will struggle to regain its full pricing power within the foreseeable future.”
Energy prices
The NYMEX crude oil contract for September declined 25¢ to settle at $42.77/bbl on Aug. 9. The October contract dropped 26¢ to close at $43.50/bbl.
The natural gas contract for September plunged by 13¢ to a rounded $2.61/MMbtu. On the spot market, the Henry Hub gas price declined 8¢ to $2.75/MMbtu on Aug. 9.
Heating oil for September fell 1¢ to a rounded $1.33/gal. The price for reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenates blending for September fell 1.6¢ to a rounded $1.34/gal.
The Brent crude contract for October on London’s ICE declined 41¢ on Aug. 9 to $44.98/bbl. The contract for November was down 38¢ to $45.35/bbl. The August gas oil contract settled at $386.75/tonne, up $2.75.
The average price for OPEC’s basket of 12 benchmark crudes was $41.08, down 2¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].