The light, sweet crude oil contract for October gained but held below $70/bbl on the New York market Sept. 4 when US commodity trading resumed after the Sept. 3 Labor Day holiday in the US. Brent crude oil for November also gained slightly, settling above $78/bbl.
A group of investment banks polled by the Wall Street Journal did not raise average estimates for crude prices for the first time in 11 months.
WSJ surveyed 11 banks, which continue to expect Brent crude will average $73.65/bbl and light, sweet crude oil will average $68/bbl.
The August forecasts come as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers, including Russia, are increasing their crude production after holding back for more than a year to help support oil prices.
An OPEC and non-OPEC monitoring committee in late August found producers complied with production-cut targets cut output in July by 109%, said Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The findings for July compared with a 120% compliance level for June and 147% for May.
OPEC and other producers agreed on June 22-23 to return to 100% compliance with agreed production-cut targets of 1.8 million b/d. Those production-cut targets became effective in January 2017.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center announced Tropical Storm Gordon was making landfall just west of the Alabama-Mississippi border before midnight on Sept. 4, with sustained winds of 70 mph, just below hurricane-force.
In the Gulf of Mexico, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said it evacuated staff and temporarily shut down Horn Mountain and Marlin platforms in Gulf of Mexico as a precautionary measure before the storm.
Energy prices
The light, sweet crude contract for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 7¢ to $69.87/bbl on Sept. 4. The November contract increased 19¢ to settle at $69.56/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for October fell 9¢ to $2.82/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas was $2.96/MMbtu after being closed Sept. 3.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for October added 1¢ to $2.25/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for October edged down by less than 1¢ to a rounded $1.99/gal.
Brent crude oil for November increased 2¢ to $78.17/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The December contract held unchanged at $77.90/bbl. The gas oil contract for September was $697/tonne on Sept. 4, up $6.75.
OPEC’s basket of crudes for Sept. 4 was $76.32/bbl, up 61¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
