Oil prices slid on Tuesday amid concerns that a nascent recovery in fuel demand could stall as a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections around the world sparks tighter lockdowns just as major producers ramp up output. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 30 cents, or 0.7% to $40.71 a barrel. Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.8% to $43.78 a barrel. The slide comes after WTI rose 1.8% and Brent climbed 1.5% on Monday on better-than-expected data on manufacturing [Read more]
U.S. oil & gas rig count holds steady at record low
U.S. energy firms kept the number of oil and natural gas rigs unchanged at a record low as the rig count fell for a fifth straight month, although July marked the smallest monthly decline due to a recovery in prices. The rig count, an early indicator of future output, steadied at the all-time low of 251 in the week to July 31, according to data on Friday from energy services firm Baker Hughes Co going back to 1940. Before this week, the count had hit all-time lows for 12 straight [Read more]
Oil set for fragile recovery as economies limp towards normal
Oil prices are set for a slow crawl upwards this year as the gradual easing of coronavirus-led restrictions buoy demand, although a second COVID-19 wave could slow the pace of recovery, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The survey of 43 analysts and economists forecast benchmark Brent crude to average $41.50 a barrel in 2020, up slightly from the $40.41 consensus in last month's survey and compared with around $42 average for the benchmark thus far this year. It is expected to average $49.85 [Read more]
Headache for OPEC as oil market structure signals return of glut
Rising OPEC and U.S. oil supply, coupled with stalled economic and crude demand recovery, have pushed the futures market structure back to indicating a surplus, last observed during oil's collapse in April and May amid the coronavirus pandemic. The development is a headache for OPEC, which had been hoping demand would recover quicker after a round of record global output cuts. The group will either have to consider further production cuts or tolerate lower oil prices for longer. The [Read more]
Oil prices slip as COVID-19 case surge dents fuel demand hopes
Oil prices dipped on Thursday as a surge of coronavirus infections around the globe raised fears a rebound in fuel demand would stutter just as major oil producers are set to raise output in August. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.13, or 2.75%, to $40.17 a barrel. Brent crude futures lost 91 cents, or 2.08%, to $42.80 a barrel. Both benchmark contracts hovered around unchanged levels after having jumped on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information [Read more]
Once Canada’s oil relief valve, rail shipping grinds to near halt
After moving record-large Canadian oil volumes by rail just five months ago, shippers have hit the brakes, idling thousands of cars and tens of millions of dollars' worth of infrastructure. Rail was Canada's oil lifeline in recent years when cheaper pipelines ran full and crude had no other exit from landlocked Alberta. But oil production cuts this year opened pipeline space and eliminated demand for trains, leaving producers like Cenovus Energy Inc with high fixed expenses and monthly [Read more]
Oil rises after surprise drop in U.S. inventories offsets demand concerns
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an industry report showed that crude inventories in the United States fell against expectations, giving the market a boost amid record increases of coronavirus infections in the U.S. and elsewhere. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $41.06 a barrel, having dropped 1.4% in the previous session. Brent crude futures were up by 14 cents, or 0.3%, at $43.36 a barrel by 0326 GMT, after dropping 0.4% on [Read more]
U.S. shale producers, slammed by oil price crash, seen posting worst quarter since 2016
U.S. shale oil producers, whose weak returns in recent years had them out of favor with investors even before the coronavirus pandemic crushed oil prices and decimated production, are expected to post their worst second-quarter results since 2016. Oil is down about 35% since January as fuel demand tumbled during economic lockdowns. Results include a modern nadir for crude with U.S. prices averaging less than $17 per barrel in April. "No one expects the second quarter to be anything but [Read more]
Oil prices drop as demand concerns offset U.S. stimulus hopes
Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, erasing gains earlier in the session, as rising coronavirus cases dampened the outlook for demand and countered optimism over more U.S. stimulus. Efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy's recovery from the coronavirus crisis had raised hopes for stronger oil demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 53 cents, or 1.22%, to $41.17 a barrel. Brent crude futures fell 16 cents, or 0.37%, to $43.28 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose as much as [Read more]
OPEC prepares for an age of dwindling demand
The coronavirus crisis may have triggered the long-anticipated tipping point in oil demand and it is focusing minds in OPEC. The pandemic drove down daily crude consumption by as much as a third earlier this year, at a time when the rise of electric vehicles and a shift to renewable energy sources were already prompting downward revisions in forecasts for long-term oil demand. It has prompted some officials in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil's most powerful [Read more]