Crude mixed in Asia in narrow ranges with rebalance views growing
Investing.com - Crude oil prices were narrowly mixed among the two main benchmarks on Monday in Asia with the market poised to accept a rebalancing in global supply and demand is underway, but cutious on potential new supplies from produces such as Libya, Nigeria and the U.s. upsetting those views.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude September contract edged up 0.02% to $48.67 a barrel.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for October delivery fell 0.04% to $52.70 a barrel. London-traded Brent futures have been buoyed by recent signs that global supplies are tightening.
OPEC and 10 producers outside the cartel, including Russia, agreed since the start of the year to slash 1.8 million barrels per day in supply until March 2018 in order to reduce a global supply glut and rebalance the market.
Last week, oil prices settled sharply higher on Friday, jumping about 3% in a surprise rally amid reports of a unit shutdown at one of the largest oil refineries in the U.S., as well as data showing a weekly fall in the number of active domestic oil rigs.
Traders piled into crude contracts after reports surfaced that a unit at Exxon (NYSE:NYSE:XOM) Mobil’s Baytown, Texas refinery shut down. The 584,000 barrel-a-day plant is the second-largest refinery in the U.S.
The report surfaced ahead of an update from oilfield services firm Baker Hughes Friday morning, showing its weekly count of oil rigs operating in the U.S. last week fell by five rigs to a total of 763.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
Aside from supply and demand, investors also bought up oil contracts amid a broader market rally sparked by Steve Bannon’s departure from the White House.
In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Related Articles
Oil prices rise ahead of U.S. stocks data
