Acasă » Oil&Gas » Exploration & production » Oil steady after sell-off but oversupply still drags

Oil steady after sell-off but oversupply still drags

20 December 2018
Exploration & production
energynomics

Oil stabilized on Wednesday after one of its biggest falls for years, but remained under pressure from oversupply and concern that a slowing global economy would depress demand for fuel.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 45 cents at $56.71 a barrel by 1020 GMT, after dropping 5.6 percent on Tuesday and at one point hitting a 14-month low.

U.S. light crude was 25 cents higher at $46.49, after plunging 7.3 percent in the previous session when it touched its lowest since August 2017, according to Reuters.

Both benchmarks have fallen more than 30 percent since the beginning of October as crude supply from the Middle East, Russia and the United States has outstripped demand, filling oil tanks.

“The market is experiencing price carnage, maximum pain and considerable downside pressure,” said Robin Bieber, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil. “The trend is down.”

Adding to worries about oversupply, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week, while gasoline inventories increased.

If the build in U.S. crude stockpiles is confirmed by U.S. government data on Wednesday, it will be the first increase in three weeks.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers including Russia agreed this month to curb output by 1.2 million bpd, equivalent to more than 1 percent of global demand, in an attempt to drain tanks and boost prices.

But the cuts will not happen until next month.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *