Oil Higher as Stocks Rebound, Saudi Signals Intervention

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Crude stockpiles rising at U.S. futures delivery point; Saudi Arabia says oil market could shift to oversupply in Q4.

Oil prices rose 1 percent on Thursday, following the U.S. stock market higher a day after Wall Street's biggest drop since 2011 and as Saudi Arabia's energy minister signaled major producers may have to intervene in crude markets to support prices.

Brent crude futures rose 72 cents to settle at $76.89 per barrel as U.S. equities rose amid strong corporate earnings. The global benchmark has lost almost $10 a barrel since hitting a high of $86.74 on Oct. 3.

U.S. crude settled at $67.33, up 51 cents.

"We dropped precipitously on the idea global demand is going to slow," said Gene McGillian, vice president of market research at Tradition Energy. "Now that equity prices are stabilizing, those fears are fading."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6 percent and the benchmark S&P 500 stock index jumped 1.8 percent as companies such as software maker Microsoft Corp, automaker Ford Motor Co and social media company Twitter Inc reported strong third-quarter earnings, allaying some fears that slowing growth would hit oil demand.

"The stock market coming back is definitely cheering people who want to focus on the demand side," said Phil Flynn, an oil market analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "It's erasing fears that demand will fall off the map."

Also lifting prices were comments by Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, who said there could be a need for intervention to reduce oil stockpiles after increases in recent months.

Saudi Arabia's OPEC governor said on Thursday the oil market could face oversupply in the fourth quarter.

"The market in the fourth quarter could be shifting towards an oversupply situation as evidenced by rising inventories over the past few weeks," Adeeb Al-Aama told Reuters.

Financial markets have been hit hard by a range of worries, including the U.S.-China trade war, a rout in emerging market currencies, rising borrowing costs and bond yields, as well as economic concerns in Italy.

"It's too early to call this a rebound that can be sustainable," said Tony Headrick, energy market analyst at commodity brokerage CHS Hedging LLC. "International demand and trade concerns are what the market is grabbing onto here."

Traders brushed off a report showing rising inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for U.S. crude futures. Cushing crude stocks rose to 33 million barrels on Tuesday, up almost 1.8 million barrels from the previous week, traders said, citing a report by market intelligence firm Genscape.

Reporting by Collin Eaton

Categories: Middle East Energy Finance Offshore Energy Renewable Energy Shale Oil & Gas

Related Stories

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

CIP, ACEN Partner Up for First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Philippines

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

VARD Snags $125M Shipbuilding Deal for Subsea Construction Vessel

CNOOC Sees 11% Profit Growth in 2024 Driven by Record Oil Production

‘Ultra-Mega’ Offshore Deal for L&T at QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field Gas Scheme

ORE Catapult and Japan’s FLOWRA to Jointly Advance Floating Wind

Second Hai Long Substation Heads to Project Site Offshore Taiwan

Current News

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Petrovietnam, Partners Sign PSC for Block Off Vietnam

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com