X

Market Close: Oct 04 Up

Fueling Strategy: Please fuel as needed today/tonight, Saturday look for little to no change in prices, Sunday prices will go UP 2 cents – Be Safe
NYMEX Crude    $ 52.81 UP $.3600
NYMEX ULSD     $1.8945 UP $.0185
NYMEX Gas       $1.5734 UP $.0175
NEWS
Oil prices edged higher on Friday as an increase in U.S. jobs eased some financial market concerns that a slowing global economy could dent oil demand, but crude posted its second consecutive weekly loss. Brent crude futures rose 52 cents to $58.23 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 36 cents, or 0.7% to $52.81 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell at least 4.3%. “The oil market is fixated on macro-economic issues and not necessarily current supply or demand,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Price Futures Group.

U.S. job growth increased moderately in September, with the unemployment rate dropping to near a 50-year low of 3.5%, according to a U.S. Labor Department report. The report, however, came on the heels of a string of weak economic reports, including a plunge in manufacturing activity to more than a 10-year low in September and a sharp slowdown in services industry growth to levels last seen in 2016. “The crisis in the manufacturing sector now appears to be spilling over to the previously robust services sector. This is not good news for oil demand. After all, this also reduces the demand for transport,” said Carsten Fritsch, senior commodity analyst at Commerzbank.

On the supply side, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said Thursday the world’s top crude oil exporter had fully restored oil output after attacks on its facilities last month knocked out more than 5% of global oil supply. “That Saudi restored its production back to original capacity sooner than expected means investors had to price out raised supply risks at a faster clip than would have otherwise been the case,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at futures brokerage FOREX. Razaqzada said weak economic data, particularly from the U.S. manufacturing sector, also raised fears for oil demand, “but now that some of these factors have been priced in, oil prices may fall less sharply going forward or at best start to form a base.”

Investors are also watching for further developments on tensions between the United States and Iran. France said Iran and the United States have one month to get to the negotiating table, suggesting that Tehran’s plan to increase its nuclear activities in November would spark renewed tension in the region.

In an indication of future production, U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a seventh week in a row. Drillers cut 3 oil rigs in the week to Oct. 4, bringing the total count down to 710, the lowest since May 2017, General Electric Co’s  Baker Hughes energy services firm said Friday.

Have a Great Day,
Loren R Bailey, President
Fuel Manager Services Inc.
Office: 479-846-2761
Cell: 479-790-5581
Categories: Fuel News
loren: Fuel Manager Services Inc. "Serving the trucking industry since 1992" I've been in and around the trucking industry for 45-years beginning in owner operator operations at Willis Shaw Express. I bought a small trucking company that I ran for 6-years then sold and went to work for J.B. Hunt Transport in 1982. After 10-years with Hunt, I started Fuel Manager Services, Inc., we are in our 29th year of serving the American trucking companies. Our simple goal was and is to bridge the gap between the trucking companies and the fuel suppliers.