[ad_1]
LONDON: Oil fell to less than $ 50 a barrel in New York for the first time in over a year as traders fear OPEC will not act decisively to release a resurgent surplus in the market world crude.
All eyes are on this weekend's G20 summit in Argentina, where Russian Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman are likely to discuss ways to coordinate oil policy, but the two leaders have reason to stay. cautious. Protected by a budget surplus and a weak ruble, Putin said yesterday that current prices are good for Russia. The Crown Prince, under pressure after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, can not afford to alienate President Donald Trump.
Beyond politics, Saudi Arabia's production and American shale mean that stocks are starting to rise again. US crude inventories increased for 10 consecutive weeks. The OPEC, Russia and other producers are scheduled to meet in Vienna next week to discuss production policy for 2019.
"Putin is doing well with 60 US dollars, but this week next week we will be well below that amount if he does not agree," said Warren Patterson, senior strategist. raw materials at ING. "I think we will have to see the Saudis actively reduce flows to the United States."
Futures plummeted 1.8% in New York to $ 49.41 a barrel, the lowest since early October 2017. The contract for a January delivery was $ 49.62 to 9:33 London time, and the volume was more than double the average of 100 days.
The Brent for the January settlement, which expires on Friday, lost up to 2.1% to 57.50 USD a barrel on the London ICE Futures Europe stock exchange. The global benchmark has traded at a premium of $ 8.23 compared to WTI. The most active contract of February lost up to 2.2%.
While Putin congratulated Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and said that Moscow was ready to cooperate further, he said the crude of about $ 60 a barrel was "balanced and fair" and well above the level necessary to keep the budget of his government in surplus.
In the United States, crude oil inventories rose 3.58 million barrels last week, the longest increase since November 2015, according to the Energy Information Administration. Construction was ahead of the 1 million barrel gain forecast in a Bloomberg survey, overshadowing a surprise decline in gasoline inventories.
"Oil has entered our bearish scenario," said Norbert Ruecker, Head of Macroeconomic Research and Commodities at Julius Baer Group Ltd. in Zurich. "Current price levels imply that oil-producing countries will maintain their production increases or that the global economy is about to slow down considerably." – Bloomberg
[ad_2]
Source link
