Goldman Sachs' chief commodities analyst Jeffrey Currie said the bank did not expect crude oil to jump to $100 a barrel in a reversal of earlier expectations.

This is the latest sign that analysts are quickly beginning to change their opinion on oil prices as it is becoming increasingly clear that Iran's oil exports will not be brought down to zero, regardless of what Washington wants.

Actually,

The scandal with the disappearance of a prominent Saudi dissident helped prop up prices today, with Brent trading at $81.41 a barrel in early morning trade in Asia, up 1.22% from Friday.

WTI traded at $72.15, up 1.12%, amid a growing number of investors and public figures distancing themselves from the oil kingdom after the Turkish authorities said they had footage of Saudi agents killing Jamal

A drop in equity indices and doubts that the supply concerns about Iran are exaggerated combined this week to push Brent crude back to $80 a barrel and WTI to $less than $72 a barrel.

An EIA inventory report yesterday added to pressure as it said crude oil inventories in the United States had gone up by as much as 6 million barrels.

Adding insult to injury, OPEC cut its global oil demand outlook

The International Monetary Fund revised downwards its forecast for the global economy, which pressured crude oil although Hurricane Michael provided some counterweight.

As the storm advances towards the US Gulf Coast, oilfield operators are shutting in platforms with almost 40% of production capacity already shut-in.

Brent crude traded at $84.98 a barrel at an hour after midnight GMT, down $0.02

Oil started the week with a loss after Reuters reported Washington is considering waivers from the Iran sanctions for some importers.

At $83.53 a barrel, Brent crude was down by more than $2 from last week's four-year highs prompted by worries about spare capacity. Yet now that Saudi Arabia has publicly assured the market it will make up for any Iranian shortage, traders are apparently calmer.

This

After Saudi Arabia and Russia revealed a secret agreement to boost oil production, traders took profit on their oil bets, pressuring Brent crude down from the highest in four years.

Reuters reports the international benchmark closed at $84.58 yesterday, down from a peak of $86.74 hit on Wednesday. WTI ended trade yesterday at $74.33 a barrel.

An additional factor that may have weighed on oil prices

Brent crude remained at a four-year high of more than $81 a barrel yesterday as OPEC and Russia made it clear they will not boost production much further.

The signals came as US president Donald Trump slammed the cartel for being "at it again", meaning, trying to push prices higher. But with the Iran sanctions coming in less than two months, chances are worry about supply is a bigger factor in

Crude oil fell today on reports about rising output from both OPEC and the United States, the new swing producer.

At $77.43 a barrel, Brent crude was down 0.3% from Friday's close at 2:20 am GMT, while WTI traded at $69.62 a barrel, also down 0.3%.

A Reuters survey suggested OPEC production added 220,000 bpd in August, hitting the highest since the start of the year at 32.79 million bpd.

Meanwhile,

Crude oil prices inched up yesterday as the American Petroleum Institute estimated inventories had fallen by a hefty 5.2 million barrels in the week to August 17 and as supply concerns about the US sanctions against Iran intensified.

Although API's figures are often very different from the official estimate from the Energy Information Administration, the institute's weekly reports are as popular

Crude oil benchmark WTI is on track to record its seventh week of losses in a row on deepening concern about global economic growth that could dampen demand for oil and derivatives.

That the EIA reported a substantial build in US crude oil inventories did not help prices, either, despite a steady rise in processing rates at US refineries.

Economic data from China, however, has been weaker than

Crude oil started the week with a gain as analysts forecast a hefty draw in US crude oil inventories while OPEC reported production of 32.32 million bpd for July.

The cartel, however, said in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report, that Saudi Arabia’s production had fallen by 200,000 bpd in the reported month instead of increasing, which the kingdom had said it would do as part of an agreement

Crude oil prices fell after Russia's Energy Ministry said national oil production rose by 150,000 bpd in July.

That's half of the 300,000-bpd cut Russia agreed to make as part of its agreement with OPEC from 2016. Now, production is coming back faster than expected and prices are falling.

A contributing factor for the price decline was an announcement that Saudi Aramco would reduce prices for its

Crude oil prices remained on the seesaw as the exchange of threats between Iran and the United States continued.

The latest came from Tehran, where President Hassan Rouhani once again reminded President Trump Iran could--theoretically at least--close the Strait of Hormuz, which is the main export route for Middle Eastern oil.

Meanwhile, Washington has softened its stance on the whole Iranian affair,

Crude oil prices are about to end a second week on the slide despite a fresh warning from the International Energy Agency that global spare capacity may not be enough to offset disruptions.

The IEA sent its warning yesterday but higher output from OPEC and Russia for some reason mitigated its effect on prices, even though the OPEC production increase was not all that impressive and even Saudi

Darkening clouds over Norway's oil industry are pushing prices higher with Brent trading at $78.39 a barrel in morning Asian trade and WTI at $74.02 a barrel.

Wage negotiations with trade unions in Norway fell through and platform workers are due to strike today, disrupting production at at least one field in the North Sea.

This disruption has added to the slump in Libyan production, an outage in

Trade tension escalation between the US and China kept crude oil prices stable despite upward pressure from the world of geopolitics.

In early morning trade in Asia Brent crude changed hands for $77.25 a barrel with WTI at $73.88 a barrel and the latest rig count in the US up by five in the first week of July as drillers pump at record high levels.

Meanwhile, the US slapped tariffs on some $34

Crude oil demand has begun to slow down, curbing the upward potential of international prices boosted in recent days by the effective suspension of production in Libya.

Brent crude traded at $77.71 a barrel in midmorning trade in Asia and WTI was at $74.51 a barrel, both up modestly, by less than a percentage point from yesterday's close.

The declaration of force majeure on exports from the

A power outage that suspended production at an oil sands project kept prices at close to three and a half year highs today.

The U.S. sanction push against Iran also helped, although there have been reports Washington had begun to soften its position towards countries that insist on continuing to import crude from Iran.

Brent crude traded at $77.79 a barrel an hour after midnight GMT today, with

Continuing fighting between different factions in Libya is keeping oil prices high, with Brent at $74.92 a barrel and WTI at $68.26 at half past 1 am GMT today.

The fight is for control over the Libyan Oil Crescent, which includes its four export terminals. The latest development is that the Libyan National Army regained control over the facilities but, unlike two years ago, it handed it over to

The deepening trade tension between the US and China and internal disagreements in OPEC have pressured crude oil prices further.

At $74.90 a barrel, Brent crude was down 0.6% from yesterday's close, with West Texas Intermediate trading at $65.55 a barrel, down 0.5%.

Analysts are now watching OPEC like hawks, increasingly expecting tensions within the cartel to intensify ahead of and at the Friday

With the OPEC and Russia meeting in Vienna a week away, Brent crude has continued down on increasingly stronger indications the cartel will announced the start of growing production.

After closing down $0.80 yesterday, at 2:22 am GMT today Brent crude traded at $75.77 a barrel but WTI was up moderately to $66.91 a barrel.

Earlier this week Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Russia and

Crude oil prices fell further on Thursday after the American petroleum Institute estimated inventories in the United States had increased by a million barrels in the week to May 25.

As a result, Brent crude, which had gained some ground previously, fell to $77.30 a barrel, after ending trade on Wednesday with a 2.8% gain. WTI traded at $68.01 a barrel at around half past midnight GMT.

Crude's rally

Rising US crude oil production and plans by Russia and Saudi Arabia to begin easing their self-imposed production cuts rattled oil prices as traders began preparing for the official OPEC-Russia decision next month.

At $75.87 a barrel, Brent is significantly down from a peak of over $80 reached last week and it doesn't have much going for it, except a statement from OEPC that OECD crude oil

Crude oil started the week with an rise after US Treasury Secretary said the trade war with China was " put on hold" and the two would work on a wider trade agreement.

Brent rose to $78.87 a barrel in midmorning trade in Asia, up 0.5% from Friday's close, and WTI gained 0.6% to trade at $71.68 a barrel.

Prices were likely also stimulated by the latest news from Venezuela, where president Nicolas

A day after virtually all energy-related media carried headlines praising strong oil demand and the OPEC cuts for the 70% improvement in Brent over the past 12 month, now it has taken just one estimated inventory count to weigh on prices.

The American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday a 4.9-million-barrel increase in US crude oil inventories, shifting the market players' attention from demand

OPEC said the global overhang in crude oil inventories has disappeared, which pushed oil prices higher on Monday after a weak start of trading.

Following the report, Brent climbed to $78.23 a barrel, up $1.11 a barrel, while WTI was a more modest gainer, adding $0.26 to $70.96. The US benchmark is trading at the biggest discount to Brent since late 2012, Reuters reports.

This is the result of

Crude oil started trading this week with a decline on the back of widespread opposition to the idea of new US sanctions against Iran.

The incessantly rising U.S. rig count also contributed to the decline, which for Brent was $0.05, to $77.07 a barrel at ten past midnight GMT today. West Texas Intermediate shed $0.04 to trade at $70.66 a barrel.

The truth is that prices rose in a rather paranoid

Crude oil traded almost unchanged early today in Asia despite a surprise 6.2-million-barrel increase in US crude oil inventories reported by the EIA.

A decision by the Federal Reserve to keep rates at 1.50-1.75% also failed to have a marked impact on prices despite the fact that it lifted the US dollar.

This basically means that geopolitical risk remains high for oil supply, motivating oil traders

Crude oil opened without much change today driven up by the anticipation Washington will reimpose sanctions on Iran but pulled down by the latest US inventory data from the API.

The API yesterday estimated that US inventories had gone up by 3.4 million barrels last week. Even though inventories as a whole are within seasonal limits, any news of an increase weighs on international prices.

In

Crude oil could hit a price of $300 a barrel in a few years, a prominent oil hedge fund manager has suggested, citing underinvestment in new production.

According to Pierre Andurand, the oil industry needs oil higher than it is now to see new investment, notably outside the U.S. shale patch. Writing on Twitter, Andurand said it was paradoxical how the industry is too worried about prices to invest

Once again crude oil started the week on a negative note, with both Brent crude and WTI slipping by less than a percentage point as U.S. drillers added five more rigs in the week to April 27.

Still the decline was limited because of the strong tailwinds supporting a further price rise, including the still open question of new U.S. sanctions against Iran, and declining production in Venezuela.

Brent and WTI both opened lower today as the latest record-breaking US production and export figures eventually made their way through the fog of worry about new US sanctions on Iran.

The message that American drillers are ramping up their output constantly might even at some point start to offset the worry, although it's doubtful this would happen before the May 12 deadline when President Trump

The oil price rally may be starting to run out of steam with Brent and WTI sliding today after the API reported a surprise build in crude oil inventories in the US.

Brent fell $1.70 a barrel from its four-year high, to trade at $73.78 at around 2 am GMT today, with WTI at $67.66 a barrel.

The move could be an indication market players have remembered that demand is not the only fundamental

The addition if five new drilling rigs to the total rig count in the US weighed on oil prices, with Brent crude trading at $73.89 a barrel at about 1 am GMT and WTI at $68.19 a barrel.

The decline is not a major one as the overall market sentiment remains overwhelmingly bullish, but the dip once again highlights the role of rising US crude oil production in keeping the reins on the oil price rally.

Crude oil began trading this week with a fall as traders were wary of further developments in Syria after the 105 missiles strikes carried out by the US, the UK and France over the weekend.

In addition to this wariness, Baker Hughes reported on Friday the addition of seven more rigs in the US, signalling the increase in production will continue, perhaps even more steeply.

At $71.87 a barrel, brent

Thanks to fear over the US clashing with Russia in Syria crude oil prices had their best week in years, with Brent touching $72 a barrel for the first time since 2014. When it was on its way to $40.

The geopolitical factor dominating headlines this week was strong enough driver for prices that markets ignored a fresh build in US oil inventories and, more importantly, another production increase,

A return of optimism that the US and China might avoid the collision course a recent exchange of tariffs has been leading them on has lifted crude oil price.

Brent crude traded at $69.02 a barrel at 2:30 am GMT, with WTI at $63.84, both up by less than a percentage point from Monday's close but up nevertheless. On Monday, the two benchmarks both gained over 2%, Reuters notes.

Analysts see the trade

Crude oil prices felt the pressure of an 11-month high in Russian oil production reported for March, despite a drop in US active rigs.

Russia's Energy Ministry reported an average daily of 10.97 million barrels of crude for March, up from 10.95 million bpd in the previous month. This weighed on prices not least because of the excessive volatility characteristic of the market.

This volatility, in

Brent crude retreated from the over-$70 highs hit earlier this week after the American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise inventory build for last week.

The build came in at an estimated 5.3 million barrels and although API figures are not often confirmed by the official inventory report EIA releases on Wednesday, they always affect prices, albeit often for only a day.

Brent crude traded at $

Brent crude began trading this week above $70 a barrel after Saudi Arabia last week said it was in favour of longer cuts and concern deepened about US sanctions against Iran.

WTI was also up, to more than $66 a barrel on the news, spurred by a couple of new appointments by President Trump that suggest the White House's stance towards Iran will become even more hawkish.

Separately, this week saw the

Oil prices rose on Monday fuelled by worry about the US reimposing sanctions on Iran and suspicions that Venezuela's oil production will continue to fall.

Rising tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran contributed to the price rise but the gains were capped by booming US production and heightened volatility on stock markets.

Brent was up by 0.3% at half past one am GMT today, at $66.26 a barrel,

Crude oil started the week with a slip as Friday's rig count report showed an increase in the number of active drilling rigs.

At $65.85 a barrel, Brent crude was down 0.5% from Friday's close at 3:50 AM GMT, and WTI was trading at $62.02 a barrel, also down by 0.5%.

As of Friday, there were 800 active drilling rigs across the United States, with four new additions made last week. This logically

Brent and WTI both fell today on worry that US crude oil production will continue to grow unrestrained.

At $64.80 a barrel, Brent is now far from the highs it hit early this year on renewed optimism after OPEC and Russia extended their production cut deal till the end of 2018.

After it topped 10 million barrels daily in November last year, now US production of crude is seen to pass the 11-million-

Crude oil prices fell today after the U.S. stock market fell on the news of Gary Cohn's resignation, which sparked fears of a trade war.

Cohn was an economic adviser in the White House and was seen as a staunch opponent of protectionist policies. His resignation suggests President Trump is determined to go ahead with the hefty tariffs he proposed for steel and aluminium imports.

On top of this news,

API's regular weekly estimate of crude oil and gasoline inventories pushed WTI lower for the second day in a row ahead of official data due out today.

The industry body said crude oil inventories had risen by 933,000 barrels versus analyst expectations for a 2.1 million barrels. This discrepancy between expectations and estimate could have put a cap on the price fall: WTI fell by a modest 0.3% to $

Crude oil hit a two-week high today as Asian equities showed some marked recovery and worries about the situation in the Middle East were reignited.

Brent was trading at $65.30 a barrel at about 2:20 am GMT, Reuters reports, up by 0.7%, and WTI was changing hands for $62.42 a barrel, up by 1.2% from Friday.

Stock price recovery was perhaps the biggest driver behind the oil price improvement,

Oil prices rose on Wednesday and continued rising today as two OPEC officials assured interested parties the cuts in production would not be ended before their time.

Secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo told media “The lexicon of exit is not found in our vocabulary,” and Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al Falih said that even if the market swings into a deficit because of the cuts, the

The International Energy Agency in its latest Oil Market Report cautioned against too much oil price optimism citing headwinds, chief among them growing US production.

While OPEC and its partners have done a great job reducing the global inventory overhang to just about 50 million barrels of crude, US production has been growing very rapidly and could by the end of the year exceed the daily rate

Crude oil prices continued to fall on Friday after a five-day losing streak as growing US production casts shadow over OPEC's cuts.

The slide began with the stock market drop on Monday but gathered pace after Wednesday, when the EIA reported that US oil production had hit a high of 10.25 million bpd in the week to February 2, obviously surprising all those who thought it would take more time to

Crude oil production in the US could reach 11 million bpd a year earlier than previously expected, the Energy Information Administration said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.

The authority, which had earlier predicted the 11-million-bpd mark will be hit some time in 2019 now believes this would happen in November this year.

The average daily production this year, the EIA said, will be 10.59

Crude oil prices fell on Monday and extended the decline today following one of the sharpest intraday drops on Wall Street that prompted a seloff.

Brent had slipped to $66.91 a barrel at 5:30 am GMT and West Texas Intermediate at $63.46, both down by more than $3 from their highs reached last month.

The selloff, which in oil should have been expected given the record-high number of bullish bets on

Hedge funds are continuing to increase their long positions on oil despite the growing risk of a correction, Reuters' John Kemp warns.

With prices at more than three-years' high, a correction is round the corner but this has not discouraged money managers from piling up more bullish bets on the commodity. Worry about an overheating market is neglectable at this point for unfathomable reasons

After shooting up to new heights thanks to a weaker greenback, today oil prices dipped again as the dollar regained some lost ground and a change in the near-term outlook for crude.

After hitting $71.28 a barrel on Thursday, Brent eased to $70.11, while WTI slid down to $$65.24, from $66.66 yesterday.

As regards the near-term prospects for oil, one commodity analyst, Marex Spectron's Georgi Slavov,

Brent crude hit $71 a barrel on the back of yet another weekly inventory draw in the United States and a weaker dollar.

West Texas Intermediate rose to $66.32 a barrel, up by 1% after it suffered a slight decline following API's estimate of a crude oil inventory build.

Of course, prices already had strong support from the energy ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia, the leaders of what is shaping

Traders are preparing for a decline in the prices of oil by increasing their put options on their oil bets.

For now, WTI and Brent are both still strong thanks to the OPEC cuts and global economic expansion. The latest sign of this expansion came from Japan, where manufacturing activity rose by the most in four years this month.

Brent crude touched $70 a barrel again, and WTI traded at $64.59

Crude oil prices remained at three-year highs despite the latest report on drilling activity in the United States.

Brent crude traded at $69.89 a barrel in mid-morning Asian trade today, up $0.02 from Friday's close, and WTI was changing hands at $64.44 a barrel, up by $0.14.

It seems prices--and trader optimism--are currently being driven by the OPEC/Russia production cuts that UAE's minister last

Brent crude hit a three-year high of over $70 a barrel yesterday on signs of a tightening market and strong global economic growth.

The international benchmark soon after that retreated below the $70 threshold but optimism remained.

Since the start of the year Brent has gained 5% and chances are it will remain strong as OPEC and its partners continue to cut production and demand rises, analysts

Crude oil started 2018 with the largest gains since 2014, before the price collapse began.

At $67.20 a barrel, Brent crude was up $0.33 since the last trading session of 2017, and West Texas Intermediate was trading at $60.64 a barrel, the highest since mid-2015.

Analysts said the reason for the rally was stronger demand and the continued production cuts in OPEC and Russia. It is certainly telling

Net long positions on Brent crude hit a record-high last week while bullish bets on WTI increased to the highest in nine months last week.

While this is a clear sign that hedge funds are firm believers the OPEC deal will work, the record-high of Brent long positions was prompted by the shutdown of the Forties pipeline network and that's a force majeure situation rather than a trend, which suggests

What some have been saying for a while is now coming to the fore in oil: could OPEC sabotage itself by pushing prices too high with the production cuts?

Some analysts warned this could happen before the cartel and Russia announced the latest extension to the production cut deal. They warned it could happen before the announcement of the first extension, too. So far, it hasn't happen but it's never

Credit Suisse forecast oil prices will stay in the $50-60 range over the next few years, with analyst William Featherston saying at prices of low $50s, oil futures are already undervalued.

The Swiss bank also started covering a string of energy companies. According to Featherston, these are currently valued in line with the back end of the futures curve and at an about 10% discount to Credit

An outage in the Forties pipeline, a major piece of North Sea oil infrastructure, caused Brent crude to jump above $65 a barrel for the first time since 2015.

The shutdown of the Forties will last a few weeks after the discovery of hairline fractures on a section of the pipeline. This will take off a substantial amount of crude oil from the market, which is already on the road to rebalance after

Data indicating rising US crude oil production has pushed prices down, with Brent trading at $63.08 a barrel at 12:20 AM GMT, down 0.5% and WTI changing hands at $57.10 a barrel, down by 0.4%.

The decline, albeit marginal, came on the back of the addition of two new drilling rigs in the US -- weekly data that investors follow closely even though the amount of active rigs themselves is not a

WTI could fall to $52 by the end of the year as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East subside, according to one analyst.

Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global, told CNBC that the developments in the Middle East that supported the latest rally, namely the actions of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed, are bound to subside towards the end of the year, never turning into an "actual geopolitical

Hedge funds are increasingly betting on further price rises in Brent crude, encouraged by the situation in the Middle East but an increase in US drilling rigs is limiting the price's upward potential.

Bloomberg reported that the net long bets on the international benchmark by hedge funds had reached a record 543,069 contracts in the week to November 7, citing data from ICE Europe. The data also

What oil bears thought was impossible, is happening: Brent yesterday closed at $54.27 a barrel, still rallying at two-year highs, on the news of a string of political arrests in Saudi Arabia.

In additional stimulus for oil prices, tensions between the kingdom and Iran heightened, following a Houthi rebel air strike against Riyadh.

Riyadh said it was closing all border crossings with its smaller

A string of high-profile arrests in Saudi Arabia aimed at cementing the power of Crown Prince Mohammed pushed oil prices to their highest since July 2015.

At $62.44 a barrel, Brent crude was today trading at levels last seen when prices were on the downward spiral. West Texas Intermediate was trading at $56 a barrel, over 30% higher than its lowest for the year so far.

Prince Mohammed, whose

WTI' s50-day moving average passed its 200-day moving average yesterday, a move called a "Golden cross" that technical analysis suggests often leads to more price gains.

The US benchmark hit $55.22 a barren on Wednesday but one analyst, Bill Baruch from Blue Line Futures noted in a talk with CNBC that WTI would need to inch higher than this, to $55.25 a barrel to create any real chance of jumping

Brent crude hit $60 a barrel at the end of last week and stayed there on Monday, as expectations intensify over an extension of OPEC's production cut deal until the end of 2018.

The international benchmark is now trading at two-year highs, with WTI also at price levels not seen for a while, at $53.95 a barrel in morning trade in Asia today.

ANZ Bank, like others last week, commented that the latest

Brent crude hit $59.30 a barrel yesterday following media quotes of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed that sounded a bullish note for the commodity.

The prince, widely known as MBS, said he backed an extension of the OPEC/Russia oil production cuts until the end of 2018, he said the Aramco IPO was going according to plans, and he also said the kingdom is moving away from oil and religion.

Basically, MBS'

API's weekly estimate of petroleum and fuel stockpiles helped push oil prices further up, as it featured a substantial drop in both gasoline and distillate inventories.

According to the industry body, gasoline stockpiles fell by 5.75 million barrels in the week to October 20, while distillate stockpiles fell by 4.95 million barrels. Brent crude traded above $58 and WTI was at $52.41 a barrel at

OPEC and its partners achieved a record rate of compliance with the oil production cut deal last month, at 120%, the monitoring committee of the group said.

The news pushed crude oil prices higher, supported by a reiteration that all options for the future of the cut are open, implying it could be extended beyond the March 2018 deadline.

There is still an overhang in OECD oil supply, which OPEC and

Brent traded at $57.22 at around 2 am GMT and WTI was at $51.31 a barrel, with traders happy about signs of a tightening market.

However, Reuters noted, there was some concern about potentially excessive optimism about China's economy, which provided counterpressure, keeping any price rises moderate for the time being.

The concern was sparked by the outgoing China central bank governor, who warned

The tightening of crude oil supply is coming to an end, the International Energy Agency warned in its latest Oil Market Report.

OECD inventories have dropped to 170 million barrels above the five-year average, from 318 million barrels at the start of the year but the end of the supply reduction is in sight as non-OPEC producers continue to build output and the cartel too pumping more last month,

Crude oil booked gains for the third day in a row despite data showing that OPEC pumped more than its self-imposed quota in September.

Brent crude for December delivery settled at $56.94 a barrel and WTI ended trade at $51.30, as the latest edition of OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report revealed that the cartel had pumped 23.75 million barrels of crude daily.

OPEC members excluding Nigeria and Libya

Brent crude and WTI ended trade yesterday with gains of 2% thanks to a rebound in positive sentiment for the future of oil supply and demand.

Analysts are saying that global supply is tightening, OPEC is demonstrating determination to do whatever it takes to keep prices higher, and the IMF has just said that it expected global economic growth to hit 3.6% in 2017 and 3.7% in 2018/

At 3:20 AM GMT,

With Hurricane Nate shutting down 92% of oil production capacity in the Gulf of Mexico and OPEC insisting that the global markets are returning to balance, prices couldn't do much but remain stable.

Brent traded at $55.84 a barrel at about 1 AM GMT and WTI was at $49.66.

OPEC's claims of a global market rebalance two weeks ago pushed prices up, with Brent almost reaching the coveted $60 a barrel

The price level of $50, unsurprisingly, has become the demarcation line between a bullish and bearish market for West Texas Intermediate, and it is where fundamental factors go to fight with speculation.

The situation is precarious for day traders and hedge funds because there are so many factors ate play and huge price movements are unlikely.

In the full-bull case, OPEC will continue

Goldman Sachs analysts are expecting an improvement in oil stock prices following the rally in benchmarks.

According to the analysts, the headwinds that energy stocks faced are now gone for the most part and oil and ga stocks are underperforming oil prices, so it's time for a correction.

Yet, Brent and WTI have started declining yet again as worries about oversupply once again take the spotlight.

The biggest rally for oil prices so far this year has ended with Brent and WTI again on the slide as fresh doubts have sprouted about the rate at which the global glut is clearing.

OPEC is again in the spotlight, despite several analysts arguing it is no longer the swing factor it once was. Last week, it was OPEC data about compliance and inventory shrinkage that pushed prices up.

This week,

A profit-taking session yesterday weighed on oil prices, dragging them down from two-year highs reached thanks to growing optimism about the global fundamentals of the commodity and the threat of supply disruptions in Iraq.

Brent crude ended trade at $58.44 a barrel, down from a 26-month high of $59.49, which was so close to what OPEC's Middle Eastern members have craved to see in oil prices when

Brent crude yesterday touched above $59 a barrel, the highest since mid-2015, on the back of improved OPEC compliance with production cuts and healthy demand.

The Kurdistan independence referendum also supported prices due to worries the positive vote could lead to further instability in the Middle East as all of Kurdistan's neighbors have declared their opposition to the nation's independence,

Amid rising oil demand from US Gulf Coast refineries, a further drop in active rigs in the country have provided stable support to oil prices.

Despite a slight dip in Asian trade today, the benchmarks remained at a multi-month high, with Brent trading at $55.58 a barrel, close to a five-month high, at half past midnight. WTI changed hands at $49.83 a barrel, down $0.06 from Friday's close.

Last

US refineries on the Gulf Coast are gradually returning to normal operation after Hurricane Harvey, boosting oil prices.

More support came from reports that Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister has discussed a second extension of the OPEC production cut deal with his Venezuelan and Kazakh counterparts.

As a result, Brent crude ended trade on Monday at $53.84 a barrel, up by 0.1% and WTI added 1.2% to $48.07

As US Gulf Coast begin to return to normal operation crude oil prices got a fresh boost from another tropical storm, Irma.

WTI closed at $49.16 a barrel yesterday, the highest since early August, MarketWatch reports, and Brent crude settled at the highest since mid-April, at $54.20.

Ample demand for crude in the US is helping prices and the inventory build reported yesterday by the American

Crude oil prices could fall as low as $35 a barrel if the conditions for a perfect storm that are shaping right now continue.

Large speculators have net long positions of 445,000 futures contracts on WTI, Jim Garner, host of Mad Money on CNBC, says. This basically means they have spread out as far as they can on oil and have limited resources to buy more futures.

What's more, oil consumption from

Brent and WTI both rose today on expectations that the decline in global supply will continue, especially in the US, Reuters reports.

The international benchmark had added 0.3% to $51.83 a barrel by 3:40 AM GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate traded at $47.53, also up 0.3%.

The increase is anything but big yet it indicates that hope may be returning to oil markets, after almost two months of

OPEC must be at its wits’ end already, with prices falling again despite all efforts to prop them up and despite several hefty US commercial crude oil inventory draws.

The latest in a string, of 8.6 million barrels, reported by the EIA had no positive effect on prices to mention because any potential effect was offset by an increase in production to a two-year high.

Crude oil prices inched up today in Asian trade following API’s weekly estimate of oil inventories in the US, which showed a draw of 9.2 million barrels.

Analysts had expected a more modest decline in inventories, at 3.1 million barrels and the discrepancy provided fuel for Brent and WTI. The international benchmark was trading at $51.02 a barrel at 2:20 AM GMT, and WTI was trading at $47.70 a

Brent crude stayed above $52 a barrel today after last week the IEA reported that global oil stockpiles were now below 2016.

The market responded with enthusiasm, ignoring the fact that even below 2016 levels, stockpiles are still in excess of the five-year average that OPEC is trying to bring them back to with its production cuts.

Yet, the agency was upbeat about demand, too, revising its 2017

In late July, Saudi Arabia promised to reduce crude oil exports to 6.6 million barrels per day in August, to support OPEC’s efforts to rebalance the market.

So far, this has not happened, according to TankerTrackers. Their data shows that Saudi Arabia exported an average 7.548 million bpd in the first week of the month, pretty much in line with its average monthly export rate since January, save

Crude oil continued to slide down today on rising doubts regarding OPEC and its ability to rein in global supply after estimates of a record-high July output for the cartel.

Prices fell for the third day in a row despite an API report that estimated 7.84-million-bpd draw in US crude oil inventories. The institute, however, also reported an unexpected build in gasoline inventories, which probably

Crude oil started the week with a slight decline but was still at nine-week highs thanks to a cut in the U.S. oil rig count and positive jobs data from the world’s top oil consumer.

The cut was of just one rig, which is modest enough but the market has been so eager for good news that it took the news with enthusiasm.

Crude oil continued to slide today, with data about higher OPEC production and exports in July weighed on Brent and WTI.

Brent crude was trading at $51.99 a barrel at about half past one AM GMT today, down by $0.60 so far this week, Reuters reports. WTI was at $49.03, unchanged on yesterday’s close but down $0.80 since Monday.

After a string of gains that pushed Brent and WTI back above $50 a barrel, higher OPEC production and exports in July, and an estimated build in US inventories pressured benchmarks once again.

WTI slid to $48.37 yesterday, after three estimates had OPEC’s July production rise by between 90,000 bpd (Reuters) and 210,000 bpd (Bloomberg). At the same time, energy data provider Kpler reported that

Brent crude hit $52.76 a barrel on Monday in Asian trade on the back of news that OPEC is meeting this week to discuss compliance plus the recent string of US inventory draws.

Venezuela’s Sunday vote for Constituent Assembly also helped push up prices as Washington considers further sanctions on the country that would most likely target its oil industry.

Oil prices continued climbing today after yesterday the API reported an estimated 10.23-million-barrel draw in US inventories.

Today, the EIA is releasing the official figures for last week but lately these have been largely in tune with API’s estimates, which has boosted optimism about the global glut.

Oil prices stabilized, inching up a bit on healthy demand signals coming from China, where refiners increased their runs last month to the second-highest on record.

Brent crude traded at $48.55 a barrel at 1:30 AM GMT, and WTI was at $46.12 a barrel. Yet the rise was modest and prices are likely to remain below $50 for the foreseeable future unless some radical change occurs in oil’s

Crude oils started the week with a moderate gain, after shedding 3% on Friday, Reuters reports, as US production continues up and OPEC supply steady.

Brent crude traded at $47.08 a barrel 1.:30 AM GMT, while WTI was at $4.60 a barrel. Some traders attributed the improvement to opportunistic buying brought on by last week’s price decline but, they said, fundamentals remained weak.

Oil’s longest winning streak since 2012 was cut short yesterday, after Bloomberg cited Russian government sources Moscow will not back any deeper production cuts.

A stronger greenback also contributed to the end of the rally, with Brent losing 3.7% to $47.76 a barrel, and WTI shedding 4.1% to $45.13. Also, data from Reuters suggested OPEC oil exports may have risen in June, adding fuel to an

Oil prices have been rising in the last four sessions on traders covering their short positions on the commodity -- a much needed respite, which, alas, is likely to remain short-lived, pun unintended.

The gains that Brent crude and WTI have booked are meager, as worry about oversupply continues to drive trading decisions and future strategies. The international benchmark, for instance, added a

A weaker US dollar helped crude oil recoup a little bit of the losses it has suffered since late May but the two most popular benchmarks remained at multi-month lows, nevertheless.

Brent crude traded at $45.78 a barrel at 12:50 AM GMT today, up by $0.24, or 0.53%, Reuters reported, while West Texas Intermediate was up by $0.21 (0.49%) to $43.22 a barrel.

Headwinds for the world’s most traded

Crude oil inched up hesitantly today but is about to record the first first-half price performance since the Asian financial crisis from 1997, Reuters reports.

At $45.31 in morning trade in Asia, Brent is so far down 20% since January. WTI was trading at $42.84 a barrel, also down by a fifth since the start of the year.

Analysts seem to be unanimous that the two principal reasons behind the price

There could be a little bit of hope for higher oil prices as the Energy Information Administration yesterday reported a substantial draw in US crude oil inventories, of over 2 million barrels for the week to June 16.

Although some joy--if any--from this news was in order, it didn’t last long as the EIA also reported an increase in crude oil production during last week. The increase was not all

Crude oil price are hovering around seven-month lows as concern that the global glut will not disappear anytime soon deepened.

Brent crude traded at $46.95 a barrel at 2:14 AM GMT today, after yesterday settling at $46.91. WTI was changing hands for $44.19, after settling yesterday at $44.20. This may not be so good for the main drivers of the extra supply, shale producers, whose production costs

The slide in oil prices has indeed become inexorable as tanker tracking data and forecasts are suggesting that global production is continuing to rise despite OPEC’s cut deal.

At 12:45 AM GMT Brent crude was trading at $46.86 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate was changing hands for $44.38. The cumulative decline for the benchmarks since the end of May, when OPEC and Russia announced an

West Texas Intermediate slumped below $45 a barrel yesterday after the Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected increase in gasoline inventories just ahead of the start of driving season.

The market remained unimpressed by a draw in crude oil inventories in the latest demonstration of the general sentiment in oil. At the same time, the Fed’s announcement of a 0.25% increase in

Traders may start storing crude oil for later sale if prices continue to fall, which would undermine attempts to eliminate excess global supply.

According to Reuters, there are 15 or more loaded supertankers at the moment in the Strait of Malacca and the Singapore Strait, with traders saving the cargoes for later as the market is in a contango: the prices of November futures are $1.50 a barrel

Crude oil production from the US shale patch will this month rise by the most since July 2015, by as much as 11.8%, according to the Energy Information Administration.

At the moment, shale output is about 5.35 million barrels daily. The news would probably not be met with cheers by the market -- growing shale production is widely considered the main culprit behind persistently low international

Amid the new crisis in the Middle East, the American Petroleum Institute reported another major decline in US crude oil inventories, pushing prices up.

The API said inventories had fallen by 4.62 million barrels last week, more than what analysts expected: a draw of 3.5 million barrels.

A day before the Energy Information Administration comes out with the official data, API’s estimates brought

The prospects of oil rising to the coveted $60 a barrel remain distant as traders continue to be wary of the effect that US production growth is having on global supplies.

Reuters reported yesterday that despite shipping data suggesting OPEC exports declined in May, prices remained pressured, with Brent crude actually dipping below $50, to $49.94 at 40 minutes after midnight GMT today.

According to

The Energy Information Administration yesterday reported a hefty draw in the amount of crude oil in commercial storage, sparking optimism that the global glut is easing.

At 6.4 million barrels less than in the previous week, inventories for the week to May 26 fell within the seasonal limits. The news came right on time, too, as doubts about the point of the OPEC-Russia agreement extension begin to

Crude oil prices got a much needed boost yesterday, after the American Petroleum Institute reported the biggest draw in inventories so far this year, of 8.67 million barrels.

Analysts also expected a draw, but much more modest, at 2.6 million barrels.

As a result, crude oil prices, pressured by disappointment from OPEC’s decision to extend but not deepen production cuts, now perked up, at least

Venezuela’s crude oil output is set for a major decline this year and this could become the next thing that tips the scales of oil prices, according to analyst Andy Lipow.

Speaking to CNBC, Lipow noted the continuing unrest in Venezuela, suggesting the political situation could further undermine its oil industry and eventually cut global supply in a way that’s meaningful enough for prices to

Brent crude and WTI started the week with losses despite the oil output cut extension OPEC announced last week.

Brent had shed 0.1% by 2:30 GMT this morning, and WTI had declined by the same rate, with the international benchmark trading at $52.11 a barrel at the time and the US benchmark trading at $49.74.

Things have not gone well with OPEC’s nine-month extension of the cut that should have

Reports that OPEC and its partners in the crude oil production cut deal might deepen the cuts helped oil start the week with a gain.

Brent crude added 0.5 to $53.86 per barrel and WTI rebounded to $50.65 a barrel, up 0.64%.

Some analysts believe OPEC will need to cut deeper to shrink global supply and improve prices in a consistent way but for now there is nothing definite in this respect coming

The oil price slide that began after a short rally seems to be inexorable as pessimism weighs on the market.

Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration reported a 1.8-million-barrel decline in commercial oil stockpiles but this failed to spark a more bullish sentiment among traders and investors and Brent and WTI both continued down.

The international benchmark had shed $0.12 in morning trade

A a couple of days after oil prices recouped their losses from last week on the announcement of a nine-month extension to the OPEC production cut, Brent and WTI are down again.

Brent was trading at $51.22 a barrel yesterday, down by 0.43%, today in Asian midday trade, and WTI had slipped 0.46% to $48.20 a barrel and that happened despite a declaration from Kuwait that it will also support the nine-

Brent and WTI yesterday reached lows last seen five months ago, pressured by growing U.S. shale output that’s completely offset the effects of OPEC’s production cut agreement.

Brent, the international benchmark, traded at $48.41 a barrel in midmorning trade in Asia, and WTI changed hands at $45.53 a barrel.

After the US Energy Information Administration reported a modest decline in crude oil stockpiles, the commodity slid own for the third day of four since the start of the week.

According to Reuters, brent fell 0.3% to $50.64 in Asian morning trade on Thursday and WTI also shed 0.3% to trade at $47.68 a barrel.

The EIA reported a decline of 930,000 barrels in US oil inventories, which although a draw

Libya boosted its crude oil production to above 700,000 bpd and U.S. drillers added rigs for the 15th week in a row, sending oil prices lower at the start of the week.

This is basically an extension of a trend we have been seeing over the last couple of weeks, with international benchmarks declining on the back of growing worry that US shale output, which is growing at a fast pace, will hamper, or

Crude oil prices perked up a little after OPEC signalled its members were actively looking for a way to reduce global stockpiles in a sustainable manner but they are about to post the second week of losses.

Reuters reports that in midday Asia trade today WTI was changing hands at $49.34 a barrel, and Brent was at $51.77. Apparently, despite the optimistic signals from OPEC, traders are wary and

After hitting five-month highs, crude oil started sliding back again as shale producers continued to boost output.

Brent lost $0.04 to trade at $55.82 a barrel today in midday Asian trading after hitting a high of $56.65 a barrel yesterday. WTI was changing hands at $53.06 a barrel, after reaching a high of$53.76 yesterday. Both benchmarks lost 0.1%, which may not be a lot but it shouldn’t be

Crude oil prices rose to highs last seen in December, after OPEC struck its already historical deal to curb global production in a bid to prop up prices.

Brent reached $56.23 a barrel and WTI hit $53.54, after reports emerged that Saudi Arabia might be after all on board with a cut extension beyond the June 30th deadline.

So far, several OPEC members, including Angola and Kuwait, have expressed

Crude oil hit a five-week high yesterday with Brent rising to $56.07 a barrel and WTI gaining to $53.14 a barrel as Libya’s biggest field stopped production and the crisis in Syria continues.

The Sharara field was suspended for the second time in two weeks as an armed group blocked the pipeline carrying crude from it to the export terminal of Zawiya.

Global crude oil supply is gradually declining, pushing international benchmarks higher, despite continuing worry about the commodity’s fundamentals.

After traders widely acknowledged that oil inventories are going down, Brent jumped to $54.28 per barrel, while WTI jumped back over $50, trading at $51.19 a barrel yesterday.

After all the hype surrounding the OPEC production deal, speculators are now betting on further price declines.

After both WTI and Brent dropped below $50, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reported hedge funds long positions on the commodity had dropped to the lowest since last November, with net long positions down 37%.

Rising US production significantly contributed to the development,

Crude oil fell yesterday after it became clear that U.S. producers are expanding their drilling operations, building output, before recouping some of the losses on a possible OPEC deal extension.

Brent crude fell to $51.42 a barrel and WTI slipped to $48.30. Brent later recovered to $51.76 a barrel, in early Asian trading today, while WTI slipped further, to $48.28.

Drilling major Baker Hughes

West Texas Intermediate settled below $50 a barrel yesterday for the first time the OPEC production cut deal was announced at the end of November.

This could signal an increase in market volatility, with options trading booming and suggesting further declines are on the way.

According to Bloomberg, the driver behind the price fall is rising shale oil production in the US -- the country’s daily

Brent crude oil has has around 5% since the start of 2017 largely on the back of growing U.S. shale output, which seems to be offsetting the effect of the OPEC-non-OPEC production cut agreement.

In mid-morning trade in Asia today, international benchmark Brent was changing hands at $55.25 a barrel and WTI was trading at $52.58 a barrel. The losses accumulated by WTI since the start of the year

Crude seems to have stabilised around $55 but this may not continue for very long, according to one fund manager who sensed where oil prices were going in 2014 early on.

According to Shawn Driscoll, manager of the T. Rowe Price New Era Fund, the current rally in prices will last for another couple of months and then prices will start sliding down, possibly diving below $20 a barrel. Still, such a

West Texas Intermediate closed at $50.82 yesterday and Brent crude settled at $53.68, both hit by growing doubts about the effectiveness of OPEC’s production cut deal.

The doubts have become particularly evident in light of the latest news from the camp of those taking part in the deal: just yesterday the Kremlin confirmed Russian oil companies have already out 100,000 barrels from daily

Crude oil prices touched an 18-month high at the end of 2016 only to slip back down on the first trading day of 2017 because of a strong US dollar and rising doubts about the OPEC agreement.

Brent crude slid down to $55.47 a barrel, from $58.37 earlier, and WTI dropped to $52.33 a barrel, after touching $55.24.

The US currency gained strength from positive manufacturing data and an increase in

Bullish sentiment among traders is dominating the crude oil market on the back of talks that OPEC and Russia will freeze or cut their output.

According to Bloomberg, money managers have become the most optimistic about the prices of crude since 2013 in the last two months, with bearish bets dropping by as much as 53% over the last two weeks alone, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Brent crude fell to $51.52 in Asia trading today, and WTI was changing hands at $49.83 after OPEC recorded the highest monthly output since 2008 for September.

The cartel produced 33.39 million barrels a day last month, a 220,000-bpd on August. What’s more, OPEC said that in 2017 non-OPEC producers will pump more crude, which will aggravate the glut despite OPEC’s own plans of freezing or

Brent crude shot up to $53.14 yesterday and WTI reached $51.22, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country is ready to join OPEC plans to cap or reduce production to rebalance the market.

Putin was speaking at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul and Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih said that with Russia’s support for the agreement, we could see crude prices reach $60 before the

Just when Libya was preparing to restart its oil exports, new clashes between the two opposing militias in the country halted these plans, pushing the price of crude oil up.

Brent crude was changing hands at $46.39 a barrel at a quarter to 1 AM GMT in Asian trade, up 1.4% on Friday’s close, and WTI was trading at $43.66 a barrel, up 1.5%.

Crude oil dropped below $40 yesterday, with WTI hitting $39.86 a barrel, for the first time in four months.

The decline has come on the back on renewed worries about the persistent global glut, supported by increased drilling in the US, record-high pumping in Saudi Arabia and Russia, and unreliable demand.

Just two months ago many on the market thought the end of cheap oil has come and that the

Crude oil lost 16% of its value over last month on the back of increased worry about a global oversupply and sluggish demand, despite driving season in the US, which failed to live up to expectations.

On Friday, Brent crude broke the $42-a barrel barrier, effectively slipping into a bear market. WTI was already there, having breached the threshold earlier in the week. On Friday, the US

West Texas Intermediate slipped to $41.29 yesterday, entering a bear market, after an unexpected build in US crude oil inventories and continuing worry about the global oversupply.

In electronic trade early today, WTI fell further to $41.01 a barrel. Brent was trading at $42.61 a barrel.

The Energy Information Administration reported in its weekly inventory review that crude oil stocks had climbed

The latest estimates of the American Petroleum Institute have it that last week crude inventories were down by 2.3 million barrels, a little bit more than a 2.1-million-barrel decline suggested by analysts polled by Reuters.

If the data is confirmed today by the Energy Information Administration, it will mean US crude oil inventories have been falling for nine weeks in a row. This, however, has

Despite the growing number of analysts who agree that the oil market is rebalancing as the glut starts to melt amid production cuts, they seem to believe that one last nosedive is not out of the question.

Crude last edged higher after sliding down by over 2%, pressured by deepening worry about a world after Brexit, the Chinese economy, and the global glut.

Brent crude gained 1.8% to settle at $48.

Crude oil fell again along with equities around the world as speculators flocked to gold worried about the fallout from Brexit two weeks after the controversial vote.

The September contract for Brent crude closed at $47.53 yesterday, down $0.43. WTI for August delivery lost $045 yesterday to $46.25 a barrel, and was changing hands for $46.32 half an hour before noon in Seoul.

Talking to Bloomberg,

Crude oil tumbled to $47 following Thursday’s referendum in Britain, which saw a tiny Leave majority win over the Remain camp.

Brent was trading at $47.78 a barrel in morning trade in Asia, after closing at $48.41 on Friday. WTI changed hands at $47.31, down from Friday’s close of $47.64.

Research and analysis firm Raymond James & Associates has predicted oil will reach $80 a barrel by the end of 2017.

In a note to clients quoted by Bloomberg, a team of analysts detail that over the past few months the dynamics of the oil market have started to change consistently and sustainably, which will lead to higher prices next year. According to Bloomberg, just one other analyst out of

Crude oil was up on Monday as the chances of Britain deciding to stay in the EU were seen as growing and as inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma declined by over 500,000 barrels.

Brent closed at $50.65 a barrel, up $1.48, and WTI settled at $49.37, up $1.39, Reuters reports. Prices are seen to remain stable unless Briton actually vote to leave the union.

In terms of fundamentals, the market is slipping

Crude oil avoided another major drop this week even though it continued to slide as the effects of supply disruptions started to wane and production returned to normal.

Brent crude ended trade at $47.19 yesterday, down $1.78 but today in electronic trade in mid-morning Asian time was at $47.75, Bloomberg reports. WTI was trading at $46.49, after settling at $46.21 yesterday.

Prices were hit not

After a prolonged rally that many saw as the end of the crisis, crude is back on the decline as US producers demonstrate optimism that may lead to higher output.

Brent crude was trading at $49.73 a barrel in morning trade in Asia, after closing at $50.35 yesterday. WTI was changing hands at $48.40, after ending trade yesterday at $48.30. Despite the stable decline in US production and a projected

Crude oil settled a bit lower yesterday as a stronger greenback prompted profit-taking but the losses were limited and the two major benchmarks stayed above $50.

Brent crude closed at $51.95 a barrel and WTI ended trade at $50.56, both shedding about $1 from their intraday highs, Reuters reports. Still, the upward trend, according to analysts is a stable one, especially right now that militants in

Oil investors are easy to worry, it seems. All it takes is a string of rebel attacks on oil production in Nigeria and speculation about a decline in US inventories.

WTI passed the $50 mark for the first time since last July, closing at $50.36 a barrel, and Brent added 1.8% to $51.44 a barrel, Reuters reports.

The rebel attacks that trumped consistently high production in OPEC and a planned increase

Crude oil rose further yesterday as the June annual meeting of OPEC in Vienna, on Thursday, approaches.

According to analysts polled by Bloomberg, the members of the organization are set to continue supporting Saudi Arabia’s strategy of driving higher-cost producers out of the market to maintain market share. At the same time, demand and supply are starting to look more promising than in the

Worries about the continuing oversupply on international oil markets have proved stronger than temporary optimism resulting from supply disruptions.

After testing the $50 level, the two most popular benchmarks, Brent and WTI retreated back below it, with Brent trading at $49.50 a barrel at half past midnight GMT, according to Reuters, and WTI at $49.41. According to technical analysts, the $50

Brent crude touched $50.08 a barrel today in Asian trade, after gaining $1.13 yesterday, on the back of continuing supply disruptions in Nigeria and news of a draw in US inventories.

According to the Energy Information Administration, strategic inventories in Cushing dropped by 649,000 barrels last week, while production declined to 8.77 million barrels daily. This is not a really significant draw,

Crude oil started the week with a decline as the the effects of production outages in Canada and Nigeria started to subside.

Brent crude was trading at $48.15 a barrel at 6:40 am GMT, down $0.57 on Friday’s close, and WTI was at $47.77, down $0.64 from Friday.

In addition to the end of unforeseeable production outages, crude oil prices were affected by the fact that for the first time in a while

Goldman Sachs, which a couple of months ago insisted crude will reach $20 a barrel, has now changed its mind, seeing a deficit on the horizon.

Unanticipated supply disruptions in Nigeria and Canada have more or less taken care of the excess supply, the bank said, and demand has picked up, so now the market is very close to rebalancing.

Another analyst, from IG Ltd in Australia, told Bloomberg these

Crude oil reached its highest level yet this year after the Federal Reserve announced it will not increase interest rates for the time being.

The decision dampened the greenback, which automatically made crude more attractive -- the commodity is traded in US dollars worldwide, so the cheaper the dollar, the more affordable it is.

On the flip side, the Energy Information Administration’s

Oil started the week with a decline, after three weeks of price rises led to enthusiastic profit-taking.

A rising US dollar also contributed to the losses. Brent crude was changing hands at $44.61 a barrel at 3:32 am GMT, and WTI was at $43.11 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Despite the recent rally, demand for oil remains sluggish, something that the rising dollar is not helping with. Morgan Stanley

Crude oil has become so susceptible to any rumour or actual event, however small, that it’s become well nigh impossible to predict where it will be in a couple of hours.

The latest news about oil is good: a smaller than expected increase in US inventories pushed the commodity up significantly. This was combined with rumours that some oil producers are considering another meeting, in Russia, to

Oil markets are currently among the most volatile in the world, driving sudden changes on the wider financial markets. The situation is likely to remain unchanged for the next four years.

According to an analysis by Diego Parilla for the Financial Times , uncertainty about where oil is going will be the dominant feature of this market.

The bulls, the International Energy Agency and OPEC among them,

The 20 oil producing countries that took part in the Doha meeting failed to reach an agreement on an output freeze, sending oil prices down.

Brent crude dropped almost 4% to $41.38 a barrel at 10.10 am Hong Kong time, CNBC reported, while WTI was trading at $38.52, down 4.56%. Since this outcome was expected, its effect on prices was mostly expected. As for the reason, this was not a surprise,

April 17 is coming and expectations that OPEC and Russia will reach an output freeze deal are riding high, pulling oil prices up with them.

Brent yesterday closed at almost $45 a barrel, while WTI settled at $42.17, both levels the highest seen since November last year and representing a more than 50% improvement on the lows oil hit in February.

Hope is a good thing but some analyst are not

Brent and WTI both registered gains in Asian trade today, after ending last week on a positive note.

The international benchmark was changing hands at $42.03 a barrel a bit before 2 am GMT today, and WTI was trading at $39.81.

Among the news that lent support to the commodity last week were the latest reduction in active drilling rigs in the US by eight to 354, as well as the decline in crude oil

The price increase in oil over the last five weeks was the result of a major short squeeze, the Schork Report said, quoting data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

According to the data, bearish bets in the period fell by 63%, or 175,085. Since short positions are closed by traders buying back the futures contracts they bet on, which pushed prices up. At the same time, bullish bets on

Encouraged by last week’s oil price rally, energy companies in the US added one more rig to the total count across the country’s oil patch, which automatically led to a drop in prices.

This was the first rig added after 12 weeks of rig-idling, over which time the total number fell by two-thirds. In response to this addition, WTI was down by 1.4% at 2 am GMT, trading at $38.89 a barrel, and

West Texas Intermediate passed the $40 mark yesterday, on the back of new exports from the US and the Fed’s decision to postpone further rate cuts, which weighed on the US dollar.

Venezuela became the first Latin American country to import US crude after the lifting of the decades-long ban. It is also one of the countries that hope to agree with other OPEC and non-OPEC producers to freeze

A report raising doubts the much-awaited meeting of several oil producers in Russia may not take place there has sparked worries about the finality of the freeze, weighing on the commodity’s price.

The decline was temporary, pushing Brent crude down to $40.05 a barrel at close yesterday, down 2.5%. At 12:48 AM EST, however, the international benchmark had rebounded to $40.84. WTI settled at $37.

Inventory data from the US and a note from Goldman Sachs that the oil price rise is unsustainable put an end to the six-day rally crude enjoyed last week.

Brent lost almost 3%, ending trade at $39.65 yesterday, and WTI settled at $36.50, down 3.7%, Reuters reports.

The American Petroleum Institute issued its weekly estimate for inventories, saying last week they climbed by 4.4 million barrels --

An announcement from Ecuador about a meeting of Latin American oil producers to discuss prices and a report that OPEC is eyeing $50 a barrel combined to push prices above the $40 a barrel mark.

Brent closed at $40.84 and WTI ended trade at $37.90,. Reuters reports, after Ecuador’s foreign minister Guillaume Long announced Quito will host a meeting between representatives of Venezuela, Colombia,

Brent crude traded at $39.49 a barrel at 4 AM GMT today in Asia, extending its last week’s gains as economic news from around the world sparked hopes the situation is not as bad as it seemed until recently.

WTI also continued rising, changing hands for $36.63 a barrel, up $0.71 from Friday’s close.

A report in Russian state news agency Itar-TASS citing energy minister Alexander Novak as saying a growing number of producers have decided to freeze oil output has pushed prices to a two-month high.

Novak’s words were “a critical mass” of producing countries has been reached, which fuelled hopes that the oil price rout may be coming to an end.

Active drilling rigs in the US fell to 400 last week, according to data from Baker Hughes, which propped up crude oil prices at the start of this week.

The rally, which oil has been enjoying since last week, may soon end, however, because the number of oil rigs may be declining but efficiency is rising, so there has not been any great change in US output, just as there hasn’t been much in the

Crude oil is on the rise and this time it could be a continued affair, market analysts cited by Reuters say.

last week crude recorded a cumulative rise of 15% and this week trading started with a gain as well: Brent was changing hands for $35.58 a barrel, up 1.4% at 8:40 PM EST, and WTI was trading at $32.96, up 0.52%.

Among the factors seen to contribute to price improvement are an increase in

A record-high level of US crude oil stockpiles and a statement from Saudi Arabia that it will not reduce output combined to pressure prices once again.

In Asia today, Brent crude was trading at $34.01 a barrel at 10:10 PM EST, down 0.79%, and WTI was at $30.55, down 0.71%.

Stockpiles in the US, according to official data, rose by 2.1 million barrels to some 504.1 million last week. At Cushing,

Net long positions on WTI crude rose last week, despite inventories hitting the highest level in 86 years, Bloomberg reports.

Apparently, money managers are largely convinced that the price has reached a bottom and from now on it would have to start rising. This is a position that has sunk a lot of money, especially in light of the fact that some analysts were recently saying that even $20 a

A decline in the value of the US dollar following the release of disappointing services industry data lent a bit of support to crude, pushing it up 8% yesterday.

WTI closed at $32.28 a barrel, despite EIA’s report about a higher than expected buildup of stockpiles. Brent crude also benefited from the news, gaining 7.1% to $35.15, CNBC reported.

After a rally that brought crude prices above $30 again, the latest economic data from China and the lack of indications that the oversupply will soon resolve itself pressured prices down this week.

Brent was trading at $33.78 a barrel at 1.46 am GMT, according to Reuters, after losing 4.9% on Monday. WTI was at $31.13 a barrel at that time, after shedding 5.9% on Monday.

China’s purchasing

Huge snow storms in the US and a frosty spell in Europe helped push oil prices back above $30 on Friday, a much needed respite for traders.

West Texas Intermediate closed the week at $32.19 and Brent ended trade a cent lower, at $32.18, increases of 9% and 10%, respectively.

This price move had also a more general beneficial effect on markets, with equities also surging after a period of depression

There seems to be a race going on among energy market analysts on who will be the most bearish these days.

BP’s chief executive has now beaten them all, save for Standard Chartered: Robert Dudley said at Davos that a scenario with $10 per barrel of crude is “not impossible”, as quoted by The Week. The way prices have been sliding since the start of the year makes such a scenario increasingly

West Texas Intermediate yesterday closed at $26.55 a barrel, the lowest price since 2003, Reuters reports, with dropping global stock markets and growing concern that the end of the glut is nowhere to be seen.

Brent crude ended the session at $27.87, after touching a low of $27.10.

In addition to the already existing factors pressuring the commodity, such as the disbalance in fundamentals and

If you were thinking this is the worst that can get for oil, you might want to think again.

According to a Zero Hedge analysis, the crude to gold ratio is currently at a peak where an ounce of the metal can buy 37 barrels. Over the years, such peaks have preceded major economic crises, including the Great Financial one from 2008 and the Asian forex crisis before it. What’s more, the ratio at the

Since the start of the year oil prices have lost around 20%, with both Brent and WTI currently changing hands at below $30 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate, which had the slight advantage of benefiting from the lifting on a decades-long oil export ban, traded at $29.17 at a little after 10 pm ET, down 0.85%.

Brent, however, did worse, simultaneously hit by the lifting of the US export ban, which

Crude oil took an expected turn for the worse today, after on Saturday economic sanctions against Iran were lifted following Tehran making true on its promise to tweak its nuclear programme.

Brent crude tumbled to $27.67 in morning trade in Asia today before recovering somewhat to $28.25 Reuters reports. WTI touched $28.36 a barrel before rising to $28.84 a barrel at 1 am GMT.

Although the lifting

Now that crude oil broke the $30 barrier, albeit for a while, it seems that everyone is getting bolder, analysts trying to see who will trump the rest with the most bearish prediction.

For now nobody is as bold as predicting that but some analysts admit that given the right circumstances, $10 a barrel of crude is a possibility. These circumstances, for instance, would include the filling up to

Morgan Stanley has become the latest addition to the group of institutions that expect oil to fall further, namely, to $20 a barrel.

However, the investment bank’s analytical team that made the prediction in a research note quoted by Bloomberg, don’t blame the market imbalance for the drop. They blame the expensive US currency, which is is dampening demand from anyone operating in another

Whatever else happens, crude is staying low until the fundamentals rebalance themselves with our without help from market players.

This is the only reasonable conclusion one could draw seeing the latest developments: WTI and Brent both closed at just a little bit over $30 yesterday, thanks to nothing else than the persistent glut. Bloomberg’s energy market chart show WTI was at $30.79 at

An unexpected large buildup in US gasoline inventories hit crude oil so hard that both Brent and West Texas Intermediate dipped below $35 a barrel, Reuters reports.

The international benchmark ended trade with a loss of $2.19 at $34.23 yesterday, touching an intraday low of $34.14, and WTI closed at $33.97, down by $2.

Gasoline stockpiles last week, according to the Energy Information

Any gains that crude oil made following Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic ties cut with Iran on Sunday were erased by signs that US crude inventories are up again and a stronger dollar, Reuters reports.

Brent crude lost $0.80 on Tuesday, to end trade at $36.42 a barrel, and WTI shed $0.79 to settle at $35.97. These price levels, almost the same as in the last days of 2015, were last seen in 2005. The

Crude oil declined on Monday, despite an initial jump after the buildup of tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

There was news about an increase in US strategic crude oil inventories, which was unexpected, and there were also indications about a slowdown in the global economy, Reuters reports, that pressured prices once more.

The Chinese stock market dropped 7% after data about weak economic

Bad news from the Middle East have as usual proved good for oil, providing it with a strong start to 2016.

After the authorities in Saudi Arabia executed a high-profile Shi’ite cleric, the country’s embassy in tehran was stormed, which prompted Riyadh to cut off diplomatic ties with Iran yesterday.

Crude oil dropped yesterday, reversing the rally from last week, as investors apparently remembered that the world continues to be oversupplied with the commodity.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, lost $1.27 in London on Monday, to settle at $36.62 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate ended at $36.81, down 3.4%. Marketwatch’s deputy markets editor William Watts notes that last week’s

Helima Croft, RBC’s global head of commodity strategy, sees three scenarios for oil prices next year, the most likely among them a fairly optimistic one.

Talking to CNBC, Croft said she considers it most likely that the oil market will regain its balance some time during the second half of the year, with West Texas Intermediate reaching $52 a barrel before the year’s end.

An analyst with CCB International Securities, Mark Jolley, told CNBC that next year oil prices are very likely to rebound as the current slump is largely a result of the warmer than usual winter.

He told the channel that once this seasonal effect on prices expires, they may go up, especially as the dollar may be going down. Jolley explained that the dollar would be weakened by corporates paying

The International Monetary Fund has become the latest addition to the group of reputable organizations projecting further decline in the prices of crude oil.

The Week quotes the fund as saying in a recent report that after Iran restarts crude oil exports, prices may fall to $30-20 a barrel. The country has the capacity to start feeding half a million barrels into the global market immediately

Brent crude, the international benchmark, yesterday ended trade down $0.53, at $36.35 a barrel, Reuters reports, the lowest since 2009, after touching an intraday low of $36.04, a price level last seen in 2004.

WTI, the US benchmark, ended with a gain, albeit a very slight one, of just one cent, at $34.74 a barrel. This was the last day of trading for the January WTI contract, which explains the

Brent and WTI slid further yesterday, with the international benchmark reaching almost the lowest price level since 2004, at $37.09 a barrel, Reuters reports.

WTI, following a report of another buildup of inventories, this time of 1.4 million barrels, touched an intraday low of $34.63 a barrel. The gap between Brent and WTI has shrunk to a couple of dollars, from over $13 in March.

OPEC also

A second day of short covering sent both Brent and WTI higher as the market continues to be jittery in anticipation of the final Fed meeting for this year.

The central bank is expected to finally announce a raising of the key interest rate, which will boost the greenback and very likely weigh down on oil, already at multi-year lows and no sign of improvement in sights, according to analysts and

The International Energy Agency said Friday that the continuously high output of OPEC and the slow growth in demand will aggravate the current crude oil glut further in 2016.

As a result, oil prices fell even further: today in Asia, Brent changed hands for $37.88 a barrel around 1 am GMT, after registering a drop of 4.5% on Friday, and a weekly decline of 12%, Reuters reports.

WTI was trading at $

The two most traded international benchmarks Brent and WTI hit new lows yesterday, following the release of a demand forecast by OPEC and extending loses that started piling up last Friday.

Brent crude touched $39.50, the lowest since 2009, while WTI ended trade at $36.76, almost the lowest in seven years, CNBC reports. The lowest price level oil reached back then, amid the financial crisis, was $

In a sign that Goldman Sachs and other pessimists may be correct in expecting oil at $20, Brent crude yesterday slipped below the $40 mark amid a major selloff that put a question mark over a possible price recovery.

The international benchmark dipped to its lowest in seven years, the Wall Street Journal reports, before recouping part of losses and settling at $40.26, down 1.2%. WTI was also lower,

In case anyone had any hopes that crude will soon recover to higher price levels, these hopes got crushed on Friday, after OPEC’s meeting.

The organisation decided to continue its production policy without curbing daily output, so there is really nothing to interfere with the global oversupply that has already pushed WTI below $40 a barrel twice this month. It seems most industry watchers are

An internal document for OPEC members released ahead of the meeting later today has revealed that the organization expects the bull market for oil to continue.

The document, which the Wall Street Journal got to review exclusively, is a transcript of a meeting from last week and according to it, even if production cuts are implemented, this will not ease the global glut. What it would do, however,

Crude oil fell again yesterday on the news that inventories in the US had grown for another week instead of an expected draw, and ahead of an OPEC meeting where its members are seen to reiterate their policy of maintaining production and market share.

West Texas Intermediate settled below $40 a barrel for the first time since August, ending trade at $39.94, down 4%. Brent crude, for its part,

With the majority of traders expecting OPEC to announce it won’t curb its crude oil production, the two main benchmarks stayed low in Asian trade today.

Brent, the international benchmark, changed hands for $44.66, up $0.05 at a little after 2 am GMT, and West Texas Intermediate traded at $41.86 a barrel, up $0.21.

After a quick jump at the beginning of the week, oil is again down, following ease of the pressure between Russia and Turkey, disappointing data from China and a strong US dollar.

Reuters reports that Brent crude lost $0.71 yesterday, to close at $45.46 a barrel, and was at $45.42 at 2.40 am GMT. West Texas Intermediate settled with a loss of $0.50 to $42.54 a barrel.

The China data that pushed

Most analyst forecasts about crude oil prices have been pessimistic to say the least, with some, like Goldman Sachs, seeing a bottom of $20 a barrel.

Others, however, like strategist Emad Mostaque, believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. This light is a rebalance of supply and demand. Mostaque told CNBC that a turnaround is pretty simple but it will take time, perhaps as long as two years.

Following Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian plane yesterday, crude oil prices jumped to their highest in two months, helped up by a decline in gasoline supplies in the US.

Brent crude ended trade up $1.29 to $46.12 a barrel, touching an intraday high of $46.50. West Texas Intermediate gained $1.12 to $42.87 a barrel.

Crude oil enjoyed a short rally on Monday, after France carried out airstrikes in Syria in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris, but quickly lost its edge and slipped down again as traders turned back to fundamentals.

Initially in Asian trade today Brent crude gained some traction to reach $44.80 a barrel, but by 3.20 GMT it had retreated to $44.62. West Texas Intermediate made a good job of

US crude oil inventories went up for another week, by 4.2 million barrels, according to official data from the Energy Information Administration.

Although lower than the increase forecast by industry organisation API, the buildup was substantial and exceeded analyst forecasts according to polls by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, both of which expected an increase of 1-1.1 million barrels.

As a

Crude oil took a nosedive yesterday as the American Petroleum Institute reported it expected inventories in the US to have grown by 6.3 million barrels over the last week, which would be the seventh weekly increase in a row.

Reuters notes that in its poll among analysts, the average expectation was for a buildup of one million barrels. It’s kind of endearing how susceptible the market is to such

Oil fell further on Thursday, as the pessimistic sentiment following the Wednesday announcement of US stockpiles and low petrol prices continued to weigh on the price.

Brent crude shed 1.2%, or $0.60, to end trade at $48.68 a barrel. WTI was an even bigger loser, going down 2.4% or $1.12 to end the session at $45.20 a barrel, Reuters reports.

Petrol also lost 2% in trade yesterday as there is a

US crude oil stockpiles went up for another week, the sixth in a row, by 2.8 million barrels, official data from the Energy Information Administration revealed.

This pushed crude prices down once more, with WTI ending trade on Wednesday at $46.32 a barrel, and Brent settling at $48.58 a barrel, down 3.9%.

Although media have been reporting about events around the world that could prop up the price

Crude oil fell after a short price increase on Tuesday, but the loss was not too great, as worries about the disruption of supplies in Libya, the US, and Brazil helped prop up the price, Reuters reports.

Brent crude traded at $5.0.50 a barrel at a quarter past 2 am GMT today, down $0.04, after a 3.6% gain yesterday. West Texas Intermediate, for its part, shed $0.02 to trade at $47.88 a barrel,

Crude oil yesterday rose the most in the past few weeks on the back of the outcome from the latest meeting of Federal Reserve officials, who decided not to touch interest rates.

This weighed on the US dollar, and since the dollar in an inverse relationship with crude oil, benefited the commodity.

Brent crude reached a price of $48.95 a barrel, up $2.14, in early afternoon EDT. At a quarter to

Market researcher Energy Aspects has forecast a drop in crude oil demand in the current quarter of the year, which hit prices at the start of the week.

Reuters reports that Brent crude traded at $47.95 a barrel at half past midnight GMT, down$0.04, while WTI was changing hands at $44.58 a barrel, down $0.02 from Friday’s close.

Crude oil yesterday closed with a gain, after dropping on Wednesday, thanks to improved demand for fuels, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Brent crude added $023 to $48.08 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate ended trade at $45.38, up $0.18. The gains were limited for two reasons: one was a fresh rally of the US dollar – a two-week high – following an announcement from the European Central

Crude oil fell in Asian trade Monday as the market awaits the latest quarterly economic growth figures from China.

The December contract for Brent was trading at $50.38 a barrel at 1.40 am GMT, down $0.08, after ending Friday trade with a $0.73 gain. West Texas Intermediate November futures traded at $47.21 a barrel, down $0.05, after an almost equally small gain of $0.07 on Friday. Reuters

The latest monthly report of the International Energy Agency on oil fundamentals forecasts the global oversupply will persist into next year, as it revised down its demand growth estimate.

The IEA now expects daily demand for crude to stand at 1.2 million barrels, down 200,000 barrels from its September forecast. This year, however, demand growth is seen at 1.8 million barrels daily, the highest

UBS commodities analyst Giovanno Staunovo told CNBC that next year Brent crude could reach prices of over $70 a barrel as the current glut eases and demand improves.

Staunovo noted the latest oil price rally, from last week, when the reduction in active drilling rigs in the US, and related decline in daily production, pushed prices up by as much as 10%, with Brent passing the $50 mark for the

The rig count in the US has been reduced to 605, which is the lowest number since July 2010, according to data from Baker Hughes cited by Reuters, which is having a positive effect on crude prices.

West Texas Intermediate was changing hands at $49.79 a barrel in Asian trade today, a bit after midnight GMT, an $0.16 increase on Friday’s close, while Brent crude traded at $52.76 a barrel, up $0.11.

A statement by OPEC’s secretary-general pushed up crude oil prices to the highest in several months, raising optimism about future demand for the commodity.

Abdalla Salem El-Badri told the International Monetary Fund yesterday that demand for crude will rise by more than previously expected this year, Bloomberg reported. The average daily increase will be 1.5 million barrels, El-Badri said,

A forecast for reduced crude oil supplies pushed prices of the commodity near three-year highs, with the two most popular benchmarks both adding more than $2 in trade yesterday.

Brent crude gained $2.50 to close at $51.80 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate ended trade up $2.27 to $48.53 a barrel. Among the contributing factors besides the favourable forecast were indications that major oil