Skip to main content

Oil prices fall on rising US rig count, Illinois refinery fire

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.92 per barrel at 0144 GMT, down 80 cents, or 1.5 percent, from their last settlement.




Oil prices fell by more than 1 percent on Monday as US drilling activity picked up and as a refinery fire in the US state of Illinois resulted in the shutdown of a large crude distillation unit.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.92 per barrel at 0144 GMT, down 80 cents, or 1.5 percent, from their last settlement.
International Brent crude oil futures were down 71 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $61.39 a barrel.
In the United States, energy firms last week increased the number of oil rigs operating for the second time in three weeks, a weekly report by Baker Hughes said on Friday.
Companies added 7 oil rigs in the week to Feb. 8, bringing the total count to 854, pointing to a further rise in US crude production, which already stands at a record 11.9 million bpd.
WTI prices were also weighed down by the closure of a 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) at Phillips 66's Wood River, Illinois, refinery following a fire on Sunday.
Elsewhere, the head of Russian oil giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, has written to the Russian President Vladimir Putin saying Moscow's deal with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to withhold output is a strategic threat and plays into the hands of the United States.
The so-called OPEC+ deal has been in place since 2017, aimed at reining in a global supply overhang. It has been extended several times and, under the latest deal, participants are cutting output by 1.2 million bpd until the end of June.
OPEC and its allies will meet on April 17-18 in Vienna to review the pact.
Preventing crude prices from falling much further have been US sanctions on Venezuela, targetting its state-owned oil firm PDVSA.
"The issues in Venezuela continue to support prices. Reports are emerging that PDVSA is scrambling to secure new markets for its crude after the US placed additional sanctions on the country," ANZ bank said on Monday.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wall Street drops, S&P 500 confirms correction

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 178.74 points, or 0.73 percent, to 24,285.95, the S&P 500 lost 17.37 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,632.56 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 33.27 points, or 0.48 percent, to 6,938.98. US stocks closed lower in a shortened post-holiday trading session on Friday as the energy sector tumbled on continued weakness in oil prices, and the benchmark S&P 500 confirmed its second correction of 2018. The three major US indexes all fell well over 3 percent for the week, with the Dow industrial and the Nasdaq posting their biggest weekly percentage declines since March. The S&P 500 ended about 10.2 percent down from its September 20 closing record high, confirming it had entered a correction. The S&P last entered a correction earlier this year after posting a then record high in late January, and falling more than 10 percent by early February. That correction lasted roughly seven months, until the index posted a fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Closing Bell: Sensex ends 550 points higher, Nifty closes at 10,386; midcaps up 2%

At the close of market hours, the Sensex ended up 550.92 points or 1.63% at 34,442.05, while the Nifty was higher by 188.20 points or 1.85% at 10,386.60. Market at Close Wednesday’s session has ended on a strong note, with the Sensex soaring over 500 points, while the Nifty closed above 10,350-mark. A strong surge in financials along with IT names were responsible for pushing the indices higher.  Pharmaceuticals joined the bandwagon as well and a combination of all these factors boosted the market.  Automobiles, consumption, infrastructure, and PSU banks were the other big gainers. In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap index rose around 2 percent.  At the close of market hours, the Sensex ended up 550.92 points or 1.63% at 34,442.05, while the Nifty was higher by 188.20 points or 1.85% at 10,386.60. The market breadth is positive as 1,593 shares advanced, 946 shares declined, while 1,114 shares were unchanged. For more related news Follow ...
Post a Comment
Read more