MARKET WATCH: NYMEX oil prices holding under $57/bbl for December
Light, sweet crude oil prices settled moderately higher Nov. 19 on the New York market but prices were falling in early trading Nov. 20 amid thin trading volumes with the approach of the US Thanksgiving holiday.
Analysts are watching the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to see if OPEC and some non-OPEC producers, including Russia, will agree to trim production during a Dec. 6 meeting.
Until recently, an alliance of OPEC and non-OPEC producers had increased production, anticipating a world oil supply shortage.
The US in early November fully implemented unilateral oil sanctions against Iran but President Donald Trump’s administration granted waivers to several buyers of Iranian oil, which means higher available world oil supply than had been previously expected.
Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix said he believes the US oil futures benchmark is trying to stabilize around $55/bbl while Brent crude oil on the London market is trying to stabilize around $65/bbl.
“The demand risk was there already in the sense that the discussions about trade wars and potential impact on global growth have been [figuring into oil prices] for a while,” Jakob said. “The big new input over the last 6 weeks has been the rebound in US crude oil supplies.”
Energy prices
The December light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Nov. 19 at $56.76/bbl, up 30¢. The January contract rose 53¢ to $57.20/bbl.
Natural gas rose nearly 43¢ to close at $4.70/MMbtu on Nov. 19.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for December increased 1¢ to $2.08/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for December edged up less than 1¢ to a rounded $1.58/gal.
Brent crude oil for January increased 3¢ to $66.79/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The February contract also was up 5¢ to $67.08/bbl. The gas oil contract for December was $630.50/tonne, down $2.75.
OPEC’s basket of crudes for Nov. 20 was unavailable.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
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.
