Oil price drops more than 2% on talks over diesel, crude stock releases
Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup oilfield platforms and accommodation jack-up rig Haven are pictured in the North Sea, Norway December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
LONDON, Oct 2 : Oil prices fell more than 2 per cent and European gasoil futures dropped about 5 per cent on Friday after reports of talks on additional diesel and crude stock releases, easing concerns over tight global energy supplies.
Brent fell $2.57, or 2.51 per cent, to $99.74 a barrel at 1035 GMT. West Texas Intermediate dropped $3.53, or 3.8 per cent, to $89.34 a barrel.
Both benchmark contracts were poised for a weekly decline, with Brent down about 4.1 per cent so far for the week and WTI lower by around 3.2 per cent.
European gasoil futures, a benchmark for diesel prices, fell about 5 per cent to $1,380.5 a metric ton.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
“The whole energy complex trades lower, led by gasoil and ULSD, as EU countries discuss releasing fuel and crude stockpiles to ease acute market tightness and help avert a potential US diesel export ban,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said.
FRENCH PROPOSAL
European Union countries on Friday discussed a French proposal to release additional diesel stockpiles, in response to US pressure on European nations to unleash more supplies in an attempt to reduce surging fuel prices, a source familiar with details of the discussion told Reuters on Friday.
In a call on Friday, EU countries’ governments discussed a French proposal for European countries to release 50 million barrels of diesel, and for International Energy Agency members to release 50 million barrels of crude oil, the source said.
“This highlights that the main stress in the energy market is no longer crude availability, with Middle East flows recovering, but rather refined product supply, constrained by reduced refinery capacity and output across the Middle East and Russia,” Hansen said.
Prices settled higher in the previous session after Reuters reported that Chinese refiners suspended oil product exports for October as Beijing looked to preserve domestic stocks.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US was sending a third aircraft carrier and up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East as President Donald Trump weighed resuming strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections.
Hamad Hussain, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics said “taking a step back, another release of oil stocks could be enough to help tip the overall market back into a slight surplus if the recent pick-up in flows from the Middle East is sustained.”
“The gradual recovery in oil flows through the Middle East Gulf (including pipeline bypass) has picked up pace of late,” Barclays said in a note.
However, the bank said physical market fundamentals remained strong, with inventories continuing to be drawn, and prompt cargoes commanding steep premiums over forward prices.
The bank raised its fourth-quarter Brent forecast by $20 a barrel to $115 and lifted its 2026 forecast to $100 a barrel.
Elsewhere, Ukraine struck oil facilities in Russia’s Samara and Volgograd regions over the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media on Friday.
Source: Reuters
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
