AIRLINK 209.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.42 (-0.67%)
BOP 10.46 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-1.97%)
CNERGY 7.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.81%)
FCCL 34.39 Increased By ▲ 0.82 (2.44%)
FFL 18.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-1.96%)
FLYNG 22.92 Decreased By ▼ -0.70 (-2.96%)
HUBC 132.49 Increased By ▲ 1.10 (0.84%)
HUMNL 14.14 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.28%)
KEL 5.03 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (1%)
KOSM 7.07 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.26%)
MLCF 45.20 Increased By ▲ 1.44 (3.29%)
OGDC 218.38 Increased By ▲ 4.82 (2.26%)
PACE 7.58 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.74%)
PAEL 41.70 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (0.41%)
PIAHCLA 17.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.17 (-0.97%)
PIBTL 8.55 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.58%)
POWERPS 12.50 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PPL 189.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.57 (-0.3%)
PRL 42.33 Decreased By ▼ -1.98 (-4.47%)
PTC 25.17 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.8%)
SEARL 103.96 Increased By ▲ 0.59 (0.57%)
SILK 1.03 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
SSGC 39.24 Decreased By ▼ -1.26 (-3.11%)
SYM 19.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-1.84%)
TELE 9.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-2.12%)
TPLP 13.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-2.96%)
TRG 69.18 Increased By ▲ 4.71 (7.31%)
WAVESAPP 10.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.65%)
WTL 1.71 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (3.64%)
YOUW 4.14 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.66%)
BR100 12,079 Decreased By -111.6 (-0.92%)
BR30 36,602 Increased By 19.8 (0.05%)
KSE100 116,053 Decreased By -202.4 (-0.17%)
KSE30 36,578 Decreased By -25.8 (-0.07%)
Markets

Oil slips as US stocks rise; prospect of OPEC action supports

US crude stocks rose by 4.5 mln bbls - API,   OPEC, allies to mull deeper production cuts. Weak demand growth
Published October 23, 2019
  • US crude stocks rose by 4.5 mln bbls - API,   OPEC, allies to mull deeper production cuts.
  • Weak demand growth outlook weighs on sentiment, Goldman Sachs sees Brent prices around $60/bbl in 2020.

LONDON: Oil prices slipped towards $59 a barrel on Wednesday on data showing a bigger-than-expected rise in US crude stocks, while the prospect of deeper output cuts by OPEC and its allies offered support.

Brent crude futures were down 47 cents, or 0.79%, to $59.23 a barrel at 1130 GMT.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December delivery fell 56 cents, or 1.03%, to $53.92 per barrel.

US crude stocks rose by 4.5 million barrels to 437 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 18, compared with analysts' expectations for a gain of 2.2 million barrels, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed.

Inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later on Wednesday.

Helping underpin prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is mulling whether to deepen production cuts amid concerns of weak demand growth next year.

Some analysts were sceptical of OPEC's ability to further cut output.

"It will be a struggle to get members to cut a significant amount more, particularly if you have some members who are not pulling their weight when it comes to cuts," Dutch bank ING said in a note.

OPEC and other oil producers including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, have pledged to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) until March 2020. OPEC and other non-members are scheduled to meet again Dec. 5-6.

Meanwhile, easing trade tensions between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies and biggest oil consumers, were also helping to cushion overall sentiment for oil, traders said.

US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that efforts to end the trade war with China were going well, a view echoed by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Tuesday.

"With the headwinds of strong US producer hedging and high freight rates fading, we expect stronger Brent timespreads and higher prices in coming weeks, with upside risk to our year-end $62 per barrel forecast," Goldman Sachs said in a note.

The investment bank expects Brent prices to continue trading around $60 a barrel in 2020.

 

Comments

Comments are closed.