Investors are awaiting US government data on crude inventories this week.
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Today, a weak positive trend reflects the expectations of the players on the statistics of growth of commercial oil stocks in the USA, which is expected to be less than last week, as well as the market’s approval of the readiness of Russian Federation to discuss the issue of excess supply with OPEC.
Data on Friday showed United States energy firms reduced the number of oil rigs by 26 in the latest week, the most since April and the fifth straight weekly fall, a sign low prices were pushing drillers away from the well pad.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for November delivery traded between a low of $45.22 and a high of $46.91 before settling at $46.31, up 0.77 or 1.70% on the day.
For the global economy, the worldwide Monetary Fund estimates economies like Russian Federation, which depend heavily on oil and gas revenue, could contract by an average 1 percent through the two years ending in 2017.
Figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the IEA point to Saudi exports to major consumers in Asia and Europe reaching multi-year highs in the first half.
Russia, one of the world’s top three oil producers, said it was prepared to meet OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers to discuss the market if such a gathering is called.
“The Fed not being able to raise its interest rates should bode pretty well for the oil market moving forwards”, Flynn said. It rose 2.3% on Monday.
If Dubai crude rises relative to Brent, then oil from Atlantic basin suppliers, especially Angola and Nigeria, becomes more competitive for Asian refiners. Bloomberg reported that the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. cut its official selling price for medium grade crude to Asia next month to a discount of $3.20 a barrel below the regional benchmark, compared with a $1.30 discount for October sales, the company said Sunday.
“Much higher than anticipated levels would definitely push prices down”, said Daniel Ang, an analyst at Philip Futures in Singapore. “Saudi Arabia’s cut in official selling prices is quite meaningful as it indicates that OPEC is still willing to fight for market share”.
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Global oil demand will grow by the most in six years in 2016 while non-OPEC supply stalls, according to a monthly USA energy report that suggests a surplus of crude is easing more quickly than expected. Mark Papa, former head of USA shale producer EOG Resources, told the “Oil and Money” conference that US production growth would tail off this month and start to decline early next year.
