Oil prices to open next week firm, expert says
Oil prices are expected to remain firm on Iran accord hopes, Fed tapering talk, according to the review contributed by Marine Bunker Exchange (MABUX). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Thursday traded near its lowest level in five months as investors suspect a possible easing of economic stimulus in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. The monthly purchasing of bonds could very well start to slow down in the coming months. The WTI December contract that ended yesterday closed at $93.33. The difference between the Brent crude oil and WTI was at closing on Wednesday $14.73. The WTI has declined the past six weeks, the longest losing streak in 15 years, as U.S. crude inventories expanded amid a surge in production.
Brent crude oil futures slipped below $108 a barrel on Thursday as the market waited for further indications on whether a preliminary deal between world powers and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program could be reached this week. The Oil was also weighed down by heightened expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will scale back its economic stimulus. Main focus of the market is what the U.S. monetary policy will look like going forward.
Major powers resumed talk on Wednesday with Iran over its nuclear program. While the U.S. warned it would be “very hard” to clinch a breakthrough deal, policymakers have said an interim accord on confidence-building steps could finally be within reach.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Thursday that the country would not stop its enrichment program but the French foreign ministry was hopeful of striking an accord this week. An agreement may help defuse a decade old standoff and dispel a wider Middle East war over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions, which has kept oil near $100 a barrel despite a weak consumption outlook. Also the unrest in Libya has helped to stem the Brent crude oil for a price slide. Political activists and disgruntled workers have been blocking most of the country’s oil facilities since the end of July this year.
|
Product |
380 cSt HSFO |
380 cSt LSFO |
|
|
|
|
|
Rotterdam 2013-11-21 |
575 |
605 |
|
Rotterdam 2012-11-21 |
589 |
620 |
|
|
|
|
|
Gibraltar 2013-11-21 |
607 |
632 |
|
Gibraltar 2012-11-21 |
605 |
663 |
|
|
|
|
|
St Petersburg 2013-11-21 |
400 |
420 |
|
St Petersburg 2012-11-21 |
500 |
570 |
|
|
|
|
|
Panama Canal 2013-11-21 |
609 |
684 |
|
Panama Canal 2012-11-21 |
646 |
786 |
|
|
||
|
Busan 2013-11-21 |
648 |
726 |
|
Busan 2012-11-21 |
644 |
805 |
|
|
|
|
|
Fujairah 2013-11-21 |
619 |
740 |
|
Fujairah 2012-11-21 |
608 |
- |
All prices stated in USD / Mton
All time high Brent = $147.50 (July 11, 2008)
All time high Light crude (WTI) = $147.27 (July 11, 2008)
|
Product |
Close Nov. 20 |
|
Light Crude Oil (WTI) |
$93,85 |
|
Brent Crude Oil |
$108,06 |