Hong: Oil held gains near $51 (Dh187.32) a barrel as Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo reiterated a rapid market rebalancing is under way, and as US production was again disrupted by a storm.
Futures added 0.8 per cent in New York after advancing 3.3 per cent in the previous two sessions. The global economic recovery has gained traction and oil de-stocking gathered momentum over the summer, Barkindo said on Tuesday. Oil producers in the US Gulf have cut output by 1.02 million barrels a day, or about 59 per cent, because of Tropical Storm Nate, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
Oil has inched higher in the past few days after the biggest weekly loss since May amid speculation rising global output may offset supply curbs led by members of Opec. US crude stockpiles probably fell by 2.4 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report Thursday.
“Opec is talking to a market which is currently prepared to listen, given the visible improvements seen during the past few months,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S.
West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was at $51.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 39 cents, at 10.31am in London. Total volume traded was about 19 per cent below the 100-day average. Prices rose $1.34 to $50.92 on Tuesday, the biggest gain in two weeks.
Brent for December settlement rose 33 cents to $56.94 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract on Tuesday increased 82 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $56.61 a barrel. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.41 to December WTI.
