Oil prices rose on Wednesday, boosted by a wider market pickup on positive news from China’s services sector, after three days of losses due to fears about a weakening global economy. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained $1.55, or 2.88%, at $55.45 a barrel. U.S. data released on Wednesday showed manufacturing activity contracted in August for the first time in three years, while euro zone activity shrank for a seventh month. Global markets rebounded after a private survey [Read more]
U.S. natgas futures rise to 7-wk high on forecasts for more demand
U.S. natural gas futures rose over 3% to a seven-week high on Tuesday on forecasts for warmer weather and higher cooling demand next week than previously expected. Front-month gas futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) were up 7 cents, or 3.1%, to $2.355 per million British thermal units at 11:29 a.m. EDT (1529 GMT), their highest since July 16. That put the contract into overbought territory for the first time since November 2018 and cut the premium [Read more]
Venezuelan oil exports fall to lowest level in 2019 as U.S. sanctions bite -data
Venezuela's oil exports fell in August to their lowest level in 2019, internal reports and Refinitiv Eikon data showed, hurt by a halt in purchases by the nation's second largest customer, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), following tougher U.S. sanctions. Overall exports of crude and refined products by state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and its joint ventures declined last month to some 770,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 992,565 bpd in July and 1.13 million bpd in [Read more]
Oil sinks as manufacturing reports renew global economy worries
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, with U.S. crude futures down more than 3%, weighed by manufacturing data that raised concerns about a weakening global economy, while the U.S.-China trade dispute continued to drag on investor sentiment. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.91, or 3.5%, to $53.19 a barrel by 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT). It fell to a session low of $52.84 a barrel, the lowest since Aug. 9. Prices extended losses following data that showed U.S. manufacturing [Read more]
Enbridge reaches agreement with shippers for Line 3 pipeline placement in Canada
Enbridge Inc on Friday said it reached an agreement with shippers to place the Canadian portion of the Line 3 replacement pipeline into service by the end of this year. Enbridge will be filing a tariff with the Canadian energy regulator for a temporary surcharge with a proposed effective date of Dec. 1, 2019, the pipeline operator said in a statement. The Line 3 replacement line is on schedule for the Canadian portion and once complete, the line will carry 760,000 barrels per day of [Read more]
Husky says Superior refinery rebuild to begin in 2019 fall
Husky Energy Inc on Friday said its Superior, Wisconsin, refinery is making steady progress in its plans to return to full operations, with the rebuild activity expected to begin in the fall of 2019, pending regulatory approvals.Demolition work is underway at the 38,000-barrel-per-ay (bpd) refinery, with a target of resuming operations in 2021, the company said.The Superior refinery was projected to reopen in late 2020 following $400 million in repairs from an April 2018 explosion and fire. [Read more]
Natgas futures slip, but log first monthly gain in nine
U.S. natural gas futures fell on Friday on technical selling and forecasts pointing to lower demand, but prices posted their first monthly gain since November as above-normal temperatures boosted gas use for cooling. On its second day as the front-month, gas futures for October delivery fell 1.1 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $2.285 per million British thermal units. The contract gained about 6% this week, the most since January. On Thursday it hit its highest in a month, at $2.310. For the [Read more]
Oil prices fall but set for weekly gain as trade row rhetoric eases
Oil prices gave back some of their recent gains on Friday, but were still headed for the biggest weekly increase since early July, boosted by an easing of China-U.S. trade rhetoric, a decline in U.S stockpiles and a looming hurricane in Florida. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell 77 cents, or 1.36%, to $55.94 a barrel. The contract is set for a gain of over 3% this week. Worries about a slowdown in economic growth and the impact on oil demand due to the trade [Read more]
Analysts slash oil price forecasts due to fears over economy, trade
Analysts have slashed their oil price forecasts to the lowest in more than 16 months, citing softening global demand as an economic slowdown looms and uncertainty prevails on the U.S.-China trade front, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The 2019 outlook for West Texas Intermediate crude futures was cut to the lowest since January 2018, at $57.90 per barrel, below last month's $59.29 forecast. WTI has averaged $57.13 this year. The survey of 51 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude [Read more]
U.S. crude stocks drop 10 million barrels as imports slow: EIA
U.S. crude oil inventories fell sharply last week to their lowest since October last year as imports slowed, while gasoline and distillate stockpiles also declined, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell 10 million barrels in the week to Aug. 23, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 2.1 million barrels. At 427.8 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were at the five year average for this time of year. The decline was broadly [Read more]