A single bank sold a large volume of U.S. oil futures contracts in early afternoon trading on Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said, pushing prices down more than 1% within minutes and causing traders to scramble to decipher the reason. The sale, just hours ahead of an OPEC+ virtual meeting at which the group is expected to extend supply cuts through the end of the first quarter, left traders scrambling to make sense of the rationale for the transaction. The bank [Read more]

U.S. crude oil production rose by 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a record 13.513 million barrels per day in the week ended Nov 29, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday. The previous weekly record for U.S. oil output was 13.50 million bpd, hit most recently in the week ended Nov 1. EIA began rounding weekly output to the nearest 1,000 bpd starting with the week ended Nov. 15, and all data prior to that was rounded to the nearest 100,000 [Read more]

U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 29, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 671,000-barrel draw. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 50,000 barrels. Brent and U.S. crude futures rose after the data showed a [Read more]

Oil prices were little changed in early Asia trade on Wednesday as market participants weighed higher U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories as well as the likelihood of OPEC+ extending supply cuts. Brent crude futures fell 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $73.60 a barrel by 0145 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $69.91. On Tuesday, Brent posted its biggest gain in two weeks, rising 2.5%. U.S. crude oil inventory rose 1.2 million barrels last week, [Read more]

The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened slightly on Tuesday: * WCS for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.30 a barrel under the WTI benchmark, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at a discount of $12.00 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark on Monday. * Canadian heavy crude prices are steady at relatively strong levels as oil sands production holds near record highs and [Read more]

The Biden administration on Tuesday ramped up its sanctions on Iran, targeting 35 entities and vessels that it said transported illicit Iranian petroleum to foreign markets as part of what the U.S. Treasury Department called Tehran's "shadow fleet." The sanctions build on those previously imposed on Oct. 11 and come in response to Iran's Oct. 1 attack on Israel and to its announced nuclear escalations, the U.S. Department of Treasury said in a statement. “Iran continues to funnel revenues [Read more]

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has awarded over $100 billion in grants created by its signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, a senior administration official said. The administration hopes the spending milestone will help to continue the deployment of clean energy even after President-elect Donald Trump, a climate change skeptic who has pledged to rescind all unspent IRA funds, takes office. "When funds are obligated, they are protected," the official told Reuters. [Read more]