Category: Oil Collapse

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf climbs on oil hopes, Egypt slowed by monetary fears


Most Gulf stock markets rose on Thursday, buoyed by firm oil prices, while Egypt edged up but was again restrained by worries about a possible interest rate rise, a currency devaluation or both.

A decision by Saudi Arabia to raise oil prices to its main customers in Asia contributed to a sense that crude may finally have bottomed out. Also, purchasing managers’ indexes released on Thursday showed non-oil business activity in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates accelerating slightly in February from January’s multi-year lows.

The Saudi stock index rose 0.8 percent as petrochemical blue chip Saudi Basic Industries gained 1.0 percent.

http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptMarketNews/idAFL8N16B1WN

Slump at the pump


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A dramatic drop in oil prices is translating into a mixed bag for motorists across the globe – from hefty savings at the pump in the United States to a rare fuel price hike in Venezuela.

Oil prices have dropped nearly 70 percent in the past 20 months, driven down by a glut in supply. All countries have access to the same oil prices on international markets, but retail gasoline prices vary wildly, largely because of the taxes and subsidies imposed on them.

That has meant the impact of diving oil prices has been uneven around the world.

https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/slump-at-the-pump

Global stocks weighed down by another oil price dive


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Global shares stumbled Wednesday after another steep drop in the price of oil reinforced worries about the potential impact on the world economy of job cuts and reduced investment in the energy industry.

KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 inched down 0.2 per cent to 4,276.23 and Germany’s DAX was down 0.7 per cent at 9,513.72 in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4 per cent to 5,899.64. But U.S. shares were set to recover some of the previous day’s losses. Dow futures were up 0.3 per cent at 16,146. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 per cent to 1,904.50.

http://www.theprovince.com/business/energy+sector+leads+another+decline+stocks+falls/11692211/story.html

 

Oil gains 8 percent as cold snap forces bears to back off


A worker climbs stairs at the Halfaya oilfield in Amara, southeast of Baghdad, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani

Oil soared nearly 8 percent on Friday as a cold snap boosted demand for heating oil and investors took advantage of the lowest prices since 2003 to close out some of their more profitable bets on price declines.

Short covering, the practice of buying back an asset sold previously at a higher price, has been enough of a catalyst to lift oil prices by 12 percent in just two days.

But it has stopped the oil price heading toward a near-17 percent drop in January, the largest slide in the first month of the year in at least a quarter of a century.

The world is still producing some two million barrels of oil a day more than it uses, and one of the warmest winters on record has destroyed typically heavy demand, leading to inventories of unwanted oil and oil products ballooning.

Money managers have racked up record-breaking bets against oil over the past few months. The price slide to its lowest since late 2003 this week provided a chance for them to book a profit on some of those positions, analysts said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKCN0V002M

 

No sign Saudi Arabia will ride to oil market rescue


A driver waits to fill his car with fuel at a petrol station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 22, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

Low oil prices have pushed top exporter Saudi Arabia to hasten difficult economic reforms and cut spending on popular benefits, but it has few options beyond sticking with a strategy to defend its market share – no matter how low prices sink.

A return of Iranian crude to the market after sanctions were lifted may now plunge prices to new lows after a 19-month drop of 76 percent that caused Riyadh’s $54 billion fiscal surplus in 2013 to swing to a $98 billion deficit last year.

Saudi Arabia’s reduced economic circumstances are already obvious in government spending cuts and a first rise in subsidized petrol prices for a decade, but Riyadh’s new rulers, King Salman and his two heirs, show no sign of changing course.

Khaled al-Falih, chairman of state oil company Saudi Aramco, reinforced the stance again on Thursday when he said the kingdom could withstand low crude prices for a “long, long time” and that it would not act alone to support the market.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-oil-strategy-idUSKCN0UZ26K

Iran to boost oil output by 500,000 barrels a day


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Free of international sanctions, Iran has issued an order to increase crude production by 500,000 barrels a day, the deputy oil minister said on Monday.

 

The step toward implementing the boost production occurred hours after the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

“Iran is able to increase its oil production by 500,000 barrels a day after the lifting of sanctions, and the order to increase production was issued today,” said Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi, who also heads the National Iranian Oil Company.

https://www.rt.com/business/329318-iran-boost-oil-production/