Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed tonight – Be Safe Tonight!
NYMEX Crude $ 41.75 DN $.1500
NY Harbor ULSD $1.3743 UP $.0005
NYMEX Gasoline $1.3134 UP $.0231
NEWS
Oil futures finished modestly lower on Monday after a volatile trading session marked by traders’ reactions to Saudi Arabia’s pledge to work with global oil producers in an effort to stabilize prices.
January West Texas Intermediate crude shed 15 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $41.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude however, settled up 17 cents, or 0.4%, to $44.83 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.
WTI futures had traded as high as $42.75 a barrel after the Saudi Press Agency reiterated that the country was ready to work with oil producing and exporting nations toward stable prices. The rebound lost steam, however, as analysts noted the remarks were in line with previous Saudi statements. “We are constantly bouncing from the area of $40 and if the Saudis do not deliver what they have said…we could see the oil price dropping below the $35 level,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. “To trade on these headlines is always a very dangerous strategy as volatility picks up substantially.” Saudi Arabia’s comments come ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ scheduled Dec. 4 meeting in Vienna.
Oil prices also saw volatile trading during Thanksgiving week last year, said Tyler Richey, co-editor of The 7:00’s Report. About a year ago, OPEC announced it would not be adjusting production targets in response to falling oil prices and that its primary objective had shifted from influencing prices to defending market share, said Richey. That caused a huge spike in volatility at the time, “and ultimately triggered one of the biggest oil selloffs in history,” he said. “There is no indication that OPEC will do anything this week, but we are alert to the fact that they may try to take another ‘jab’ at the U.S. and wreak some havoc in the energy markets while the Nymex is closed for the holiday [Thursday],” said Richey.
Oil also saw some pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar and persistent worries about the global surplus of crude. The ICE U.S. dollar index climbed Monday on growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.