Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Oil Prices Recover $68 as Saudi Arabian Exports Expected to Hold Steady

Published 07/19/2018, 11:34 AM
Updated 07/19/2018, 11:34 AM
© Reuters.  Oil rises as Saudi Arabia says exports little changed in July

© Reuters. Oil rises as Saudi Arabia says exports little changed in July

Investing.com - Oil prices rose on Thursday, as a Saudi Arabian official indicated that the country’s exports will be little changed despite a large increase in production.

New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 53 cents, or 0.8% to $68.28 a barrel by 11:29 AM ET (15:29 GMT).

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., traded up 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.28.

Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor Adeeb Al Aama said that exports in July from the cartel’s top producer would be roughly in line with the 7.2 billion barrels per day that were exported in June, according to a Dow Jones report.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries led by Russia had agreed to decrease their curbs on output in order to compensate for shortfalls seen in other producers such as Venezuela, Libya or Angola.

That increase in production along with easing supply disruptions have sent oil prices spiraling downwards in the last two weeks, with U.S. crude and Brent down 7.4% and 5.0%, respectively, since July 6.

In that time, Libya reopened its ports and started exporting oil again after the previous closures of its oil field.

Iran, the world’s fifth largest oil producer, filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice against sanctions imposed by the U.S. in May, alleging that they violated a 1955 bilateral treaty between the two countries. The Islamic country asked the sanctions be lifted provisionally.

On Monday, the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Washington might grant waivers to Iran oil purchases.

“We want people to reduce oil purchases to zero, but in certain cases if people can't do that overnight, we'll consider exceptions," Mnuchin told reporters, according to Reuters.

Mnuchin suggested that he would meet with counterparts on the sidelines of a G20 finance ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires through July 22 where sanctions on Iran were likely to be a topic of conversation.

In other energy trading, gasoline futures dipped 0.19% $2.0456 a gallon by 11:32 AM ET (15:32 GMT), while heating oil rose 0.25% to $2.0955 a gallon.

Lastly, natural gas futures gained 1.65% to $2.766 per million British thermal units, after storage data released earlier Thursday showed a smaller than expected build in stockpiles.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.