Crude oil is almost flat on Thursday after crude inventories shrank for the first time in 11 weeks in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer; some downside pressures on prices may be imposed by hopes Libya will reopen all oil ports blocked by protests.
The Energy Information Administration showed that US crude stockpiles fell by 5.59 million barrels last week as refiners boosted processing. Gasoline inventories increased by 1.83 million barrels while distillate’s including heating oil and diesel rose by 2.65 million.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed on Wednesday to keep its production target unchanged at 30 million barrels per day for the first half of 2014 while some members talked about raising output next year, weighing on oil prices.
Members Iraq, Iran and Libya said they plan to raise output even if demand is not strong enough or prices fall. Iran confirmed it will bring back production once sanctions are lifted, while in Libya there are hopes the nation will reopen all oil ports.
Markets will be closely following today the US’s growth data and Friday’s non-farm payrolls; data Wednesday showed that US private employers added 215,000 jobs last month, the biggest increase in a year, leading to speculation payrolls could also be upbeat.
Strong economic data will prompt the Federal Reserve to start curbing its bond buying program at its next meeting on December 17-18. The Fed`s monetary stimulus has helped increase liquidity and supported risk-assets such as oil.
- WTI crude oil futures for January is trading around $97.33 a barrel after rising $0.13
- Brent futures for January settlement is trading around $111.62 a barrel after falling $0.26
- Natural gas is trading at $3.961 per cubic feet after rising 0.03%
- Gasoline is trading at $2.7074 per cubic feet after falling 0.43%
- Heating oil (diesel) is trading at $3.0512 a gallon after falling 0.26%