The Brent crude oil contract for September delivery plunged by nearly $3.50/bbl on the London market July 16 while light, sweet crude oil prices dipped nearly $3/bbl to the lowest level in 3 weeks on the New York market.
US President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, prompting a steady decline in oil prices July 16.
Some traders cited the potential for Russia to increase production beyond its latest agreement with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. But other analysts said the speculation did not warrant extreme crude oil moves.
OPEC in June announced it and other major producers, including non-OPEC Russia, would increase production. Previously, OPEC cut production more than the targets.
Several factors have contributed to volatile oil prices in recent weeks. These include unilateral US sanctions against Iran, which threaten to cut Iranian oil exports from world crude supply; ongoing US-China trade tensions; and OPEC’s decision to raise crude output.
Meanwhile, Venezuela production continues to decline, and Syncrude reports a temporary outage at its Canadian oil sands joint venture until sometime in September.
Energy prices
The New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil futures for the August light, sweet crude contract tumbled $2.95 to settle at $68.06/bbl on July 16. The September price fell $2.88 to $67.07/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for August edged up less than 1¢ to a rounded $2.76/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price fell 6¢ to $2.74/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for August decreased 8¢ to a rounded $2.05/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for August fell 10¢ to a rounded $2/gal.
Brent crude oil for September plunged $3.49 to $71.84/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The October contract also fell sharply, dropping $3.44 to $71.82/bbl. The gas oil contract for August was $633.50/tonne, down $11.75.
The OPEC basket of crudes average price for July 16 was $71.90/bbl, down 25¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
