Oil Snaps Advance With OPEC+ Supply Decision in Focus
Oil fell following a two-day advance after OPEC+ agreed on a modest supply quota increase, with traders also parsing signals from lower-than-expected Saudi prices.
Brent was over $65 a barrel, with West Texas Intermediate below $62. OPEC and allies including Russia decided at the weekend on a 137,000-barrel-a-day rise, while de-facto leader Saudi Arabia kept the price of its main grade to Asia steady in a sign of caution, surprising traders who’d expected an increase.
Crude posted back-to-back losses in August and September, hurt by concerns over an impending surplus. OPEC+ has been ramping up output for months in a bid to reclaim market share even as rival drillers from the Americas keep on raising production. Traders are also watching Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in case it hampers supplies.
“The OPEC+ output increase planned for November is pretty modest,” said Edward Bell, acting group head of research and chief economist at Emirates NBD. “Markets are still going to be looking out for signs of stockbuilds.”
Meanwhile, Shell Plc said the performance of its oil and gas trading operation recovered in the third quarter, after struggling with geopolitical volatility in the previous period. Exxon Mobil Corp. said refining margins rebounded in the third quarter, adding about $500 million to earnings compared with the three months prior.
Brent for December settlement fell 0.4% to $65.21 a barrel at 10:09 a.m. in London.
WTI for November delivery declined 0.5% to $61.41 a barrel.
Source : Bloomberg.com
