DTN Oil Update
Oil Edges Up on Venezuela, Still Posts Monthly Loss
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil futures settled modestly higher Friday, Oct. 31, on market talk of a potential U.S. strike on Venezuela that President Donald Trump denied.
The market still finished down for October to post a third consecutive monthly loss, following concerns about record U.S. oil production and rising OPEC output.
The NYMEX WTI contract for December delivery settled up $0.41, or 0.7%, at $60.98 bbl.
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ICE Brent for December delivery climbed $0.07, or 0.1%, to $65.07 bbl.
For the month, WTI was down 2.7%, following a 2.6% slide in September and 7.6% in August. Brent showed a loss of 4.3% for October, after prior monthly declines of 1.6% and 6.1%.
Downstream, the front-month ULSD futures eased by $0.0288 to $2.4312 gallon while November RBOB gasoline futures slipped $0.0103 to $1.9931 gallon.
The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.282 points to 99.63 against a basket of foreign currencies.
Traders said oil futures ran higher Friday on talk that the U.S. might strike at military sites in Venezuela to pave the way for the elected government in the Latin American country to take power.
The speculation of such a strike "raises significant risks for oil markets, particularly diesel, as supplies are already low and Venezuelan heavy oil is an important source," Phil Flynn, analyst at Chicago's Price Futures Group, said in a note.
President Trump, however, when asked by reporters, ruled out that he was mulling a strike on Venezuela.
Trump has imposed sanctions on Venezuela's Maduro government since his previous term of office, in recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate leader since 2019. The president has repeatedly said "all options are on the table" for a solution to the crisis in Caracas.
Oil futures have been under pressure since August due to growing output, with Brent pricing down 16% on the year. An OPEC meeting scheduled for this weekend could potentially agree to another round of production hikes.
In third-quarter earnings, oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron both cited weak crude prices for reduced income. ExxonMobil said net profit fell 12% from a year ago, while Chevron reported a 21% year-on-year drop in earnings.