Light, sweet oil prices for October and November contracts dropped more than $1/bbl on Sept. 3 on tensions about US-China trade relations and as Hurricane Dorian took a path along the eastern US seaboard, staying away from US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production.
“Sentiment still remains quite bearish due to ongoing fears about the inimical impact of trade wars on [oil] demand,” said Helima Croft, RBC Capital Markets analyst.
Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank head of commodity strategy, said crude oil prices remain troubled by reports of rising production during August from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia, and the US.
“This at a time where the strength of demand growth, due to trade-war pessimism, has increasingly been called into question,” Hansen said.
The US Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventory report will be released Sept. 5, a day later than normal because of the Sept. 2 Labor Day holiday.
Meanwhile, after leveling much of the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, slow-moving Hurricane Dorian edged towards the southeastern US coastline on Sept. 3-4, sweeping along Florida’s northeastern coast with its eye remaining offshore. It appeared headed toward a potential landfall in the Carolinas later this week. Dorian moved along Florida as a Category 2 storm.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 8 a.m. EDT that maximum sustained winds were 105 mph. Dorian was about 95 miles east of Daytona Beach, Fla., moving north-northwestward at 8 mph.
Energy prices
Light, sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange for October delivery decreased $1.16 to $53.94/bbl on Sept. 3 while the November contract fell $1.13 to $53.76/bbl.
The October natural gas price on NYMEX rose 7¢ to settle at a rounded $2.36/MMbtu on Sept. 4.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for October decreased 3¢ to $1.80/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for October decreased nearly 6¢ to a rounded $1.47/gal.
Brent crude for November dropped 99¢ to $58.26/bbl. The December contract declined 99¢ to settle at $57.47/bbl.
Gas oil for September decreased $10 to $551/tonne on Sept. 3.
The average for OPEC’s basket of crudes for Sept. 3 was $57.81/bbl for Sept. 3, down 95¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
