Oil & Gas Prices - Sept 8
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:30 am
Opening Prices:
> WTI is down $2.62 to $37.15/Bbl, and Brent is down $1.84 to $40.17/Bbl.
> Natural gas is down 8.4c to $2.504/MMBtu.
Closing Prices:
> WTI prompt month (OCT 20) was down $3.01 on the day, to settle at $36.76/Bbl.
> Also, NG prompt month (OCT 20) was down $0.188 on the day, to settle at $2.400/MMBtu. < I think the ngas selling was just a reaction to the overall market and oil selloff. The U.S. gas market is going to tighten up rapidly in Q4.
This is one of those "Chicken Licken / The Sky is Falling" days.
On September 7 Reuters reported the global economy is likely not headed for any major slowdown due to COVID-19 but piled-up storage and uncertainty over China's oil demand cloud oil markets' recovery, an official with International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Keisuke Sadamori, IEA director for energy markets and security, told Reuters the outlook for oil was in the midst of either a second wave or a steady first wave of the coronavirus. "There is an enormous amount of uncertainty, but we don't expect any additional serious slowdown (in the global economy) in the coming months." "Even though (the market is) not expecting real robust (demand) growth coming back soon, the view on demand is more stable compared with three months ago," he said in an interview.
The IEA cut its 2020 oil demand forecast in its monthly report on August 13, warning that reduced air travel would lower global oil demand by 8.1 million b/d. The Paris-based agency downgraded its outlook for the first time in three months, as the epidemic continues to wreak economic pain and job losses worldwide. With Brent crude registering its first weekly loss since June on Friday, markets have grown increasingly nervous over demand, poor refining margins and slow economic growth, reducing incentives to draw crude and products from abundant stocks. "It doesn't seem like a massive stock draw seems to be happening yet," Sadamori said. "We are not seeing a robust pickup in refining activity, and jet fuel is the big problem," he added. China, the world's largest crude importer, emerged from an economic lockdown sooner than other major economies and used its financial muscle to make record oil imports in recent months, a rare bright spot amid global demand destruction. But geopolitical tensions could call into doubt "to what extent it can be sustainable and last long", Sadamori said. "There are so many uncertainties with regard to the Chinese economy and its relationship with key industrialized countries, with the U.S. and these days, even Europe. It's not such an optimistic situation - that casts some shadow over the growth outlook".
On September 7 Reuters reported oil prices fell on Monday after Saudi Arabia made its deepest monthly price cuts to supply for Asia in five months and as uncertainty over Chinese demand clouds the market's recovery. Brent crude was trading at $42.03 a barrel, down 63 cents or 1.5%, after earlier sliding to $41.51, its lowest since July 30. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude fell 67 cents, or 1.7%, to $39.10 per barrel after hitting $38.55, its lowest since July 10. "The mood has turned somewhat pessimistic in the second half of last week and the immediate risk is skewed to the downside," said oil broker PVM's Tamas Varga. The world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, cut the October official selling price for Arab Light crude it sells to Asia by the most since May. "The decrease was interpreted by the markets as a sign that the demand recovery in the region, home to the second and third largest oil consumers, is running out of steam," said Rystad Energy analyst Paola Rodriguez-Masiu. China, the world's biggest oil importer which has been supporting prices with record purchases, slowed its intake in August and increased its products exports, customs data showed on Monday.
> WTI is down $2.62 to $37.15/Bbl, and Brent is down $1.84 to $40.17/Bbl.
> Natural gas is down 8.4c to $2.504/MMBtu.
Closing Prices:
> WTI prompt month (OCT 20) was down $3.01 on the day, to settle at $36.76/Bbl.
> Also, NG prompt month (OCT 20) was down $0.188 on the day, to settle at $2.400/MMBtu. < I think the ngas selling was just a reaction to the overall market and oil selloff. The U.S. gas market is going to tighten up rapidly in Q4.
This is one of those "Chicken Licken / The Sky is Falling" days.
On September 7 Reuters reported the global economy is likely not headed for any major slowdown due to COVID-19 but piled-up storage and uncertainty over China's oil demand cloud oil markets' recovery, an official with International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Keisuke Sadamori, IEA director for energy markets and security, told Reuters the outlook for oil was in the midst of either a second wave or a steady first wave of the coronavirus. "There is an enormous amount of uncertainty, but we don't expect any additional serious slowdown (in the global economy) in the coming months." "Even though (the market is) not expecting real robust (demand) growth coming back soon, the view on demand is more stable compared with three months ago," he said in an interview.
The IEA cut its 2020 oil demand forecast in its monthly report on August 13, warning that reduced air travel would lower global oil demand by 8.1 million b/d. The Paris-based agency downgraded its outlook for the first time in three months, as the epidemic continues to wreak economic pain and job losses worldwide. With Brent crude registering its first weekly loss since June on Friday, markets have grown increasingly nervous over demand, poor refining margins and slow economic growth, reducing incentives to draw crude and products from abundant stocks. "It doesn't seem like a massive stock draw seems to be happening yet," Sadamori said. "We are not seeing a robust pickup in refining activity, and jet fuel is the big problem," he added. China, the world's largest crude importer, emerged from an economic lockdown sooner than other major economies and used its financial muscle to make record oil imports in recent months, a rare bright spot amid global demand destruction. But geopolitical tensions could call into doubt "to what extent it can be sustainable and last long", Sadamori said. "There are so many uncertainties with regard to the Chinese economy and its relationship with key industrialized countries, with the U.S. and these days, even Europe. It's not such an optimistic situation - that casts some shadow over the growth outlook".
On September 7 Reuters reported oil prices fell on Monday after Saudi Arabia made its deepest monthly price cuts to supply for Asia in five months and as uncertainty over Chinese demand clouds the market's recovery. Brent crude was trading at $42.03 a barrel, down 63 cents or 1.5%, after earlier sliding to $41.51, its lowest since July 30. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude fell 67 cents, or 1.7%, to $39.10 per barrel after hitting $38.55, its lowest since July 10. "The mood has turned somewhat pessimistic in the second half of last week and the immediate risk is skewed to the downside," said oil broker PVM's Tamas Varga. The world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, cut the October official selling price for Arab Light crude it sells to Asia by the most since May. "The decrease was interpreted by the markets as a sign that the demand recovery in the region, home to the second and third largest oil consumers, is running out of steam," said Rystad Energy analyst Paola Rodriguez-Masiu. China, the world's biggest oil importer which has been supporting prices with record purchases, slowed its intake in August and increased its products exports, customs data showed on Monday.