DTN Oil Update
Oil Heads for Weekly Loss Ahead of OPEC+ Decision
VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil prices slid for a third consecutive trading day Friday morning, ahead of an OPEC meeting Sept. 7 in which further production increases will reportedly be considered. In the U.S., official government data showed crude oil and distillate inventories expanded last week.
NYMEX-traded WTI for October delivery fell $1.34 to trade near $62.14 bbl, and ICE Brent for November delivery declined $1.33 to $65.66 bbl.
October RBOB gasoline futures slipped $0.0460 to $1.9635 gal, and the front-month ULSD contract was down $0.0366 to $2.2941 gal.
The U.S. Dollar Index dropped 0.709 points to 97.595.
Market observers had largely expected OPEC to pause output increases in October. The recent series of monthly supply hikes was part of the unwinding of some 2.2 million bpd in voluntary production cuts shouldered by eight member states, achieved by last month's quota increase. Further production quota hikes would therefore target separate, long-standing curtailments from the Declaration of Cooperation, colloquially known as OPEC+, months ahead of schedule, raising global oversupply risks.
The Energy Information Administration on Thursday reported that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories expanded by 2.4 million bbls to 420.7 million bbls last week, with stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, tank farm, the delivery point for WTI futures, growing by 1.6 million bbls. EIA also reported a 1.7 million bbl build in distillate fuel oil inventories, which, combined with the unexpected increase in crude oil stocks, further weighed on prices.
P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]