Traders focus on what OPEC+ will do - Oct 1

[dan_s]

From OilPrice.com

As OPEC+ meets once again next Monday, speculation has been rife regarding the oil group’s intentions to bring more crude into the market. Whilst prices are still close to the $80 per barrel mark, with Brent trading around $78 per barrel and WTI trending around $74.5 per barrel, the first US inventory stock build since late July and news of OPEC+ laggards (Russia and Kazakhstan) ramping up supply has provided some downside for prices. At the same time, exorbitantly high gas prices driving gas-to-oil switching in Asia and the US dollar weakening are largely offsetting those factors. < Even if OPEC+ increases their October production increase from 400,000 to 800,000 bpd the global oil market is still under-supplied. All it does is move the date of the "Train Wreck" (when all spare capacity is gone) up a month.

Spot LNG Price Surge Continues. Increasing purchasing activity in East Asia amid China’s power demand crunch and continuing supply tightness have pushed spot LNG prices to $34.5 per mmBtu in Asia, the highest on record. < My SWAG is that LNG delivered price bid goes to $50 by the end of November and if the first week of December is cold it could go even higher.

Germany Merges Gas Trading Hubs. Germany launched a nationwide gas trading hub called THE (Trading Hub Europe), having merged two of its hubs - Gaspool and NetConnect - to be able to compete with the Dutch TTF and British NBP. < Another Heavy Weight joins the Mother of ALL Bidding Wars for natural gas supplies.