Brent crude oil prices settled below $77/bbl on the London market Oct. 23, which analysts attributed to traders’ concerns that worldwide oil demand is weakening amid ample crude supply even as US sanctions are fully implemented on Iranian oil exports in nearly November.
During Oct. 24 intraday trading, Brent approached $75/bbl—its lowest level since Aug. 24. Light, sweet crude oil prices settled below $67/bbl in New York Oct. 23 and continued falling in early Oct. 24 trading.
“Demand worries have been around for a while,” said Olivier Jakob, Petromatrix analyst, adding that refining margins for gasoline and intermonth spreads for crude likely will remain weak for a while, meaning “it’s going to be difficult [for crude] to rebound.”
Saudi Arabian officials have said the kingdom is willing to increase oil crude to fill any supply gaps (OGJ Online, Oct. 23, 2018).
Separately, Morgan Stanley analysts have said, “We still see Brent reaching $85/bbl,” by Dec. 31.
The US Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly Petroleum Status Report on Oct. 24. Separately, the American Petroleum Institute said Oct. 23 that its preliminary numbers show US crude stocks rose 9.9 million bbl for the week ended Oct. 18 from the previous week.
Energy prices
The December light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $2.93 on Oct 23 to $66.43/bbl on Oct. 23. The January contract was down $2.87 to settle at $66.62/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for November was up 7¢ to $3.21/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for November declined 7¢ to a rounded $2.25/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for November was down 7¢ to a rounded $1.84/gal.
Brent crude oil for December was down $3.39 to $76.44/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The January contract dropped $3.29 to $76.15/bbl. The gas oil contract for November fell $13.75 on Oct. 23 to close at $702.50/tonne.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
