financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
Oil steady as players take stock of Middle East supply concerns
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Oil steady as players take stock of Middle East supply concerns
Aug 31, 2024 10:17 PM

(Reuters) - Oil prices were steady in early trading on Friday as investors weighed supply concerns in the Middle East against signs of weakened demand.

Brent crude futures for October delivery expire on Friday and were unchanged at 0033 GMT. The more actively traded contract for November fell 7 cents or 0.09% to $78.75. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 11 cents, or 0.14%, to $75.80.

Both contracts settled more than $1 higher on Thursday driven by oil supply concerns.

More than half of Libya's oil production, or about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), was offline on Thursday and exports were halted at several ports following a standoff between rival political factions.

Libyan production losses could reach between 900,000 and 1 million bpd and last for several weeks, according to consulting firm, Rapidan Energy Group.

Meanwhile, Iraqi supplies are also expected to shrink after the country's output surpassed its quota agreed with OPEC+, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Iraq plans to reduce its oil output to between 3.85 million and 3.9 million bpd next month.

However, oil prices remained on track for a second month of decline.

Oil dipped 1% on Wednesday after data showed a U.S. crude stock draw around a third smaller than expected, with inventories slipping 846,0000 to 425.2 million, compared with a 2.3 million barrel draw forecasted by analysts in a Reuters poll.

"The market is concerned about the medium-term outlook, with oil balances for 2025 looking weak," ANZ analysts said in a note.

"We believe OPEC will have no choice but to delay the phase out of voluntary production cuts if it wants higher prices," ANZ said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, together known as OPEC+, is set to gradually phase out voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of a year from October 2024 to September 2025.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
GLOBAL MARKETS-European shares nudge higher, dollar steadies before megacap earnings, jobs data
GLOBAL MARKETS-European shares nudge higher, dollar steadies before megacap earnings, jobs data
Oct 29, 2024
* Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT ), Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon ( AMZN ) results due this week * Traders watching JOLTS, payrolls figures for Fed policy clues * US election in final stretch with polls too close to call (Updates at 0936 GMT) By Samuel Indyk and Kevin Buckland LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher...
European Equities Close Sharply Lower in Wednesday Trading; UK Forecasts Higher GDP
European Equities Close Sharply Lower in Wednesday Trading; UK Forecasts Higher GDP
Oct 30, 2024
12:02 PM EDT, 10/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed sharply lower in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 1.08%, the Swiss Market Index dropped 1.05%, France's CAC fell 1.01%, the FTSE in London was down 0.53%, and Germany's DAX closed 0.96% lower. The UK government raised its economic growth forecast for 2024 and 2025 in its...
EMERGING MARKETS-Colombian peso hits one-year low, other Latam FX steady
EMERGING MARKETS-Colombian peso hits one-year low, other Latam FX steady
Oct 29, 2024
* Foreign debt financing by Brazilian issuers surges in 2024 * Mexico's Alsea down after quarterly results * MSCI's Latam stocks index down 0.3%, FX flat (Updated at 2012 GMT) By Shashwat Chauhan, Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap Oct 23 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies were steady against a stronger dollar on Wednesday, while oil exporter Colombia's peso...
TSX Closer: The Market Closes Lower Again as Commodity Prices Falls; Bank of Canada Cuts Meet Expectations
TSX Closer: The Market Closes Lower Again as Commodity Prices Falls; Bank of Canada Cuts Meet Expectations
Oct 30, 2024
04:23 PM EDT, 10/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower for a third-straight day on Wednesday as investors continue to take profits following last week's record high as commodity prices weakened and the Bank of Canada followed through on expectations to lower interest rates by 50 basis points. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 149.31 points to...
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved