Brent crude oil futures as well as light, sweet crude for November and December delivery were up slightly Oct. 22 as the market turned its eyes to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom plans to increase its crude oil output and does not intend to use its reserves as a political tool in the controversy over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Bloomberg reported Oct. 22, citing Russia’s TASS news agency’s interview with Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih.
“For decades we used our oil policy as a responsible economic tool and isolated it from politics,” Al-Falih said in the interview. “So let’s hope that the world would deal with the political crisis, including the one with a Saudi citizen in Turkey, with wisdom,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has said it could raise output to 11 million b/d but concerns of oil price hikes linger as the kingdom vowed to strike back against any punitive measures linked to Khashoggi’s killing.
Energy prices
The light, sweet crude contract for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 5¢ to $69.17/bbl on Oct. 22. The December contract was up 8¢ to settle at $69.36/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for November was down 11¢ to $3.14/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for November gained 1¢ to a rounded $3.32/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for November was down less than 1¢ to remain unchanged at a rounded $1.91/gal.
Brent crude oil for December was up 5¢ to $79.83/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The January contract gained 18¢ to $79.44/bbl. The gas oil contract for November rose $1.15 on Oct. 22 to close at $716.25/tonne.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes for Oct. 22 averaged $78.68/bbl, up 53¢.
