Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed today/tonight – Be Safe Tonight
NYMEX Crude $ 43.30 UP $.2700
NY Harbor ULSD $1.3944 DN $.0107
NYMEX Gasoline $1.4208 DN $.0408
NEWS
Oil futures tiptoed higher Monday, finding support after Venezuela said a deal to stabilize the global oil supply is imminent between nations inside and outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Prices also climbed on news that military conflict in Libya had affected the African country’s oil exports over the weekend.
October West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 27 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $43.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. November Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $45.95 a barrel.
Speculation about what could come out of the side meeting between big producers at a coming conference in Algeria next week “has picked up on reports that OPEC could call an emergency meeting to ratify any agreement reached at the informal meeting,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said members of OPEC and non-cartel members are nearing a deal on production. “We had a long bilateral meeting with [Iran’s president Hassan] Rouhani. We’re close to a deal between OPEC producer countries and non-OPEC,” he told a news conference Sunday at the end of a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, according to media reports. Venezuela’s economy, highly dependent on oil revenue, has been severely hit by the slide in crude oil prices, and its government has been pushing hard for an agreement to limit global supply.
However, several key members have dashed hopes for an agreement at the Algeria meeting. Cartel chief Mohammed Barkindo said late Saturday that no decision on oil production will be made next week as it is an informal meeting and “not a decision-making meeting.” Barkindo said OPEC would try to reach a consensus and then could call an emergency meeting to make an actual decision, but only on the condition that all members reach an agreement. “It is clear that at the moment, there is no consensus among the OPEC members, and what is the chance they will reach one in a week?” said Vivek Dhar, a commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Dhar surmised that Barkindo’s comment was to “manage the market’s expectation” toward a non-result at next Wednesday’s meeting. Meanwhile, renewed fighting in Libya delaying an expected big ramp up in exports has helped to boost prices, but this could reverse if hostilities ease again.
Oil traders will also be zeroing on the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Both central banks are expected to make monetary-policy announcements that could ripple through global financial markets on Wednesday. On the same day, China will release its final August oil trade data, which will likely confirm crude imports last month were at their second-highest level ever at 32.85 million barrels a month.