Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed today/tonight – Be Safe
NYMEX Crude $ 31.62 DN $2.0000
NY Harbor ULSD $1.0365 DN $0.0422
NYMEX Gasoline $1.0830 DN $0.0493
NEWS
Oil futures settled sharply lower on Monday, with downbeat economic data from China raising concerns over the outlook for energy demand, helping prices log their first decline in five sessions.
March West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $31.62 a barrel, down $2, or 6%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline came after oil posted a gain of roughly 10.8% over the past four trading sessions in a row. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $1.75, or 4.9%, to $34.24 a barrel.
Prices took a big hit, given “the magnitude of the recent recovery in an overall downward trend,” said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com. “Prices went up too far too fast, on merely ‘hopes’ that Saudi and Russia will cut output.” He said profit-taking is the main reason for the oil-price drop. Prices also fell after disappointing manufacturing data from China, which is among the world’s largest oil importers. The “weak Chinese manufacturing data is weighing on both oil and stocks as the world attempts to gauge the pace of China’s slowdown,” said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric. “Oil certainly seems to have a hand on the stock market’s steering wheel lately, but broader concerns surrounding global demand growth appear to be the key factor in keeping the correlation elevated.” Last week, oil prices rose on speculation Russia and Saudi Arabia were considering cuts in output to support prices. The gains soon evaporated after officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries refuted such claims. “Moscow’s reluctance to cede market share, the geological complications of its Arctic fields and a lack of direct state control of the sector has meant any cooperation from Moscow has been reluctant, limited and short-lived,” said Robert Perkins, Platts senior EMEA oil news editor.