MARKET WATCH: Brent crude oil reaches above $74/bbl
Light, sweet crude oil prices rose slightly on the New York market Aug. 7 to settle above $68/bbl for October delivery while the Brent contract for October gained 90¢ to settle at $74.65/bbl.
The US Energy Information Administration was scheduled to release its inventory report later Aug. 8.
Analysts surveyed in advance of EIA’s weekly report by the Wall Street Journal expect that US crude stockpiles will have fallen by 2.3 million bbl for the week ended Aug. 3. But the American Petroleum Institute said Aug. 7 that its preliminary data for the week ended Aug. 3 showed US crude supplies fell 6 million bbl.
Analysts said oil prices were supported early this week by US President Donald Trump’s move to reinstate the first of two rounds of economic sanctions against Iran. Anticipated sanctions on Iran’s oil exports are scheduled to be evaluated on Nov. 4.
Trump has requested that other countries also reduce or stop buying Iranian oil to improve the effectiveness of the unilateral sanctions. In May, Trump announced a US exit from an international agreement that lifted sanctions against Iran in return for its cooperation regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
“We view that it is very unlikely that the US administration will be successful in reducing Iranian exports to zero,” Ehsan Khoman, head of research for the Middle East and North Africa region at MUFG bank, told the Wall Street Journal.
“Our expectation is for this more aggressive US threat of sanctions to force around 800,000 to 1 million b/d of Iranian crude off the market by November,” Khoman said.
Energy prices
The light, sweet crude contract for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 16¢ to close at $69.17/bbl on Aug. 6. The October contract gained 39¢ to settle at $68.33/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for September gained nearly 4¢ to a rounded $2.90/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price gained 7¢ to $2.93/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for September increased nearly 3¢ to a rounded $2.17/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for September gained 4¢ to a rounded $2.10/gal.
Brent crude oil for October increased 90¢ to $74.65/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The November contract gained 92¢ to settle at $74.99/bbl. The gas oil contract for August was $658.75/tonne, up $3.25.
The OPEC basket of crudes average price for Aug. 7 was $72.58/bbl, up 31¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
About the Author
Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer
Paula Dittrick has covered oil and gas from Houston for more than 20 years. Starting in May 2007, she developed a health, safety, and environment beat for Oil & Gas Journal. Dittrick is familiar with the industry’s financial aspects. She also monitors issues associated with carbon sequestration and renewable energy.
Dittrick joined OGJ in February 2001. Previously, she worked for Dow Jones and United Press International. She began writing about oil and gas as UPI’s West Texas bureau chief during the 1980s. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1974.