Crude oil for December delivery fell 55¢ on the New York market Oct. 29 to settle just above $67/bbl while Brent crude oil for December fell 28¢ to hold above $77/bbl in London.
Analysts attributed the price drops to a strengthening US dollar and a weekly rig count report that showed US oil drillers added active rigs, an indication of future oil production.
Oil is bought and sold in US dollars, so a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies. The Wall Street Journal reported that the dollar was stronger against the euro, yen, and pound as of late Oct. 29. The WSJ Dollar Index was 0.4% higher.
The Baker Hughes weekly rig count report also put downward pressure on oil prices. The rig count for the week ended Oct. 26 showed active US oil rigs rose by 2 to 875—the highest total since March 2015.
The total US drilling rig count was up 1 unit to 1,068 rigs working for the week ended Oct. 26, which is up 159 units from the 909 rigs working this time a year ago (OGJ Online, Oct. 26, 2018).
Oil-directed rigs were up 2 units from the previous week to 875 units working, and up 138 units from the 737 rigs drilling for oil the same week a year ago. Gas-directed rigs were down 1 unit to 193, yet up 21 units from the 172 rigs drilling for gas a year ago.
Among the major oil and gas-producing states, North Dakota and Alaska were the biggest gainers, up 2 rigs each to respective counts of 54 and 5.
Energy prices
The December light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 55¢ on Oct. 29 to $67.04/bbl. The January contract fell 54¢ to settle at $67.21/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for November held unchanged at a rounded $3.18/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for November decreased nearly 2¢ to a rounded $2.28/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for November edged up a fraction of a penny to a rounded $1.82/gal.
Brent crude oil for December was down 28¢ to $77.34/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The January contract dropped 29¢ to $77.37/bbl. The gas oil contract for November fell $2 on Oct. 29 to close at $711.50/tonne.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes was $76.07/bbl on Oct. 29, up 36¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
