The oil drops, Russia reducing its production less than expected; US prices lose 6% in August



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Oil futures contracted sharply on Friday, contributing to a loss for the month, after reports revealed that Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had declared cuts in oil production of Russia in August would be slightly lower than those agreed under the agreement reached between OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

Novak said the signatory countries will discuss the deal and the market situation at the September 12th meeting of the watchdog committee, Reuters reported, citing RIA and Interfax news agencies. According to information quoted by Novak, Moscow is still seeking to fully comply with the agreement.

But the report shook confidence. Now that Russia "weakens", it is possible that the agreement on the reduction of production between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, which is not a member of OPEC, "is not taken for granted, "said Phil Flynn, Senior Market Analyst at Price Futures Group. "Nevertheless, Russia has been too consistent last month."

OPEC oil production rose in August for the first month of this year. Group members pumped 29.61 million barrels a day, up 80,000 barrels a day from a revised July figure, according to a Reuters poll released on Friday.

Earlier this week, the OPEC Joint Ministerial Follow-up Committee, tasked with monitoring compliance with cuts by member states and non-OPEC countries, set the compliance rate at 159 percent in July. up 22% from June. OPEC and other major oil producers, including Russia, pledged to reduce their supplies early this year by 1.2 million barrels per day from end-2018 levels. The agreement was extended until March 2020.

West Texas Intermediate for October delivery

CLV19, + 0.11%

$ 1.61, or 2.8%, to settle at $ 55.10 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. August was a difficult month for crude oil, as commodities slipped into a bear market. Reference month prices in the US benchmark fell 5.9%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Nevertheless, the WTI contract last month posted a weekly rise of 1.7% after a sharp decline in US stocks and cautious optimism on trade.

In addition, data Friday from Baker Hughes

BHGE, -0.87%

implied a slowdown in oil drilling activity in the United States, with the number of active rigs dropping from 12 to 742 this week. This followed the fall of 16 oil rigs last week.

October Brent World Benchmark

BRNV19, -1.06%,

which expired at the end of the session, ended at $ 60.43, down 65 cents, or 1.1%, on ICE Futures Europe. The contract recorded a weekly increase of 1.8% and a monthly fall of 7.3%. November Brent

BRNX19, -0.10%,

which became the first month of settlement, lost $ 1.24, or 2.1%, to settle at $ 59.25 a barrel.

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China's Foreign Ministry said Friday that US and Chinese negotiators are maintaining effective communication, Reuters reported. Oil was shaken earlier this month as investors were dumped, assets considered risky as a result of escalating tariffs in Beijing and Washington, which heightened concerns over oil prices. global and US economic outlook.

Oil was supported this week, as both parties seemed to keep their prospects alive for talks next month. Crude oil was also lifted after government data on Wednesday showed a much larger drop than expected in crude oil inventories on a weekly basis.

"Energy prices have greatly benefited [this week] a huge drop in US stocks and a constructive rhetoric of the trade war between the United States and China, "said Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at Oanda, in a note. "The 1% drop in oil seen today could be short-lived if we see a recovery in the hurricane season and we will likely see renewed tensions in the Persian Gulf."

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Late Thursday, the Energy Information Administration announced that it would postpone the release of monthly oil supply data for June 2019 and annual oil supply data for January 2009 to December 2018, initially scheduled for Friday. He cites data errors in relation to the figures of the rail movement.

"It is important to note that the US total data for commodities supplied for crude oil products and balances are not affected by this issue of (regional) rail data, as they only affect interregional US movements of these products. do not affect the United States. imports or other data relating to total volumes in the United States, "told MarketWatch in an email on Thursday, Robert Merriam, director of the Bureau of Oil and Biofuels Statistics at the IEA.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Dorian is expected to hit Florida during the Labor Day weekend. The National Hurricane Center has declared that the Category 3 storm should become a potentially catastrophic Category 4, with winds of 130 km / h. It is expected to remain largely clear of the Gulf of Mexico and most of the region's power generation infrastructure, but energy traders will remain cautious, analysts said.

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In the trade of other energies, the essence of September

RBU19, -0.24%

fell 4.2% to $ 1.6134 per gallon, with the contract recording a monthly loss of 15%, while September oil

HOU19, + 0.17%

decreased by 1.9% to $ 1.8282 per gallon, a loss of 6.5% for the month. The September contracts expired at the settlement of the day.

For gas, "US Labor Day weekend usually marks the end of the summer driving season, but Hurricane Dorian, which touches Florida, could complicate demand expectations in the south. is, "said Robbie Fraser, Senior Commodity Analyst at Schneider Electric.

Natural gas from October

NGV19, -0.22%

finished 0.5% at $ 2.285 per million British thermal units, up 2.3% since the beginning of the year.

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