DTN Weekly Oil Update
Oil Futures Higher on Syrian Attacks, Delayed Opec+ Meeting
Oil Futures Higher on Syrian Attacks, Delayed Opec+ Meeting
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Oil futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange and front-month Brent crude contract on the Intercontinental Exchange opened Monday higher as a civil war in Syria reignited when rebels took control of the country's second-largest city Aleppo, resulting in airstrikes from the Syrian government and Russia.
Jets pounded the cities of Idlib and Aleppo, killing at least 25 people, according to the Syrian civil defense group that operates in opposition-held areas, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
The escalating conflict raised concerns about a wider regional war, which could disrupt oil production and supply routes. Last week Israel and Lebanon agreed a cease-fire, which initially eased fears of disruptions in oil output from Middle Eastern producers.
Separately, oil futures markets continued focusing on the upcoming OPEC+ plus meeting scheduled for this Thursday.
The meeting was originally scheduled for Dec. 1, but was pushed back to Dec. 5 as several ministers of member countries attended the 45th Gulf Summit in Kuwait Sunday, according to an OPEC statement released last week.
The group was expected to announce a gradual increase of 2.2 million barrels per day to the global markets in 2025, but that decision now appears to be unlikely.
The uncertainty about China's demand recovery, expectations of tariff wars, the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and ample crude supplies from Libya and the U.S. are some other factors to influence OPEC + member's decision to bring back more barrels to the global markets by 2025.
However, additional crude production from the oil cartel would place crude prices below $70, according to analysts.
In economic news, the U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics is scheduled to announce unemployment data for November on Dec. 6. The unemployment rate in the U.S. was steady at 4.10% in October, but markets will focus more on learning about wage increases in November as this will influence the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
Oil futures remained bullish Monday also as Energy Information Administration data released last week showed commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell 1.8 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 22. In contrast, both gasoline and distillate fuel inventories rose from the previous week, due to higher demand expectations ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday week, adding 212,000 barrels (bbls) and 114,700 bbls last week, respectively.
Near 9:54 a.m. EST, WTI for January delivery was trading near $68.38 bbl, up $0.38, and February Brent crude contract was at $72.15 bbl up $0.31. January RBOB rose $0.0159 gal to $1.9147, and January ULSD edged up $0.0040 gal to $2.1964.
Maria Eugenia Garcia can be reached at Maria.Garcia@dtn.com
