BLBG:Oil Drops Amid Speculation OPEC Quota To Remain Unchanged
Oil fell for the fourth time in five days in New York amid speculation that OPEC will keep production quotas unchanged even after a slide in prices.
Futures slipped as much as 0.8 percent. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which meets in Vienna tomorrow, said global oil markets remain well supplied even after its production fell in May for the first time in eight months. Prices also dropped after the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude stockpiles increased 1.6 million barrels last week. A government report today is forecast to show they declined, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
“OPEC’s output is a very significant feature of the oil market and has the potential to make quite significant changes to supply and impact prices,” said Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The consensus view is that at current prices it’s not too likely that we’ll get any public announcement on production quota cuts.”
Oil for July delivery dropped as much as 69 cents to $82.63 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $83.01 at 1:34 p.m. Sydney time. The contract rose 0.8 percent yesterday to $83.32. Prices are down 16 percent this year.
Brent oil for July settlement was at $97.17 a barrel, up 3 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract expires tomorrow. The more-active August future was unchanged at $96.97.
The European benchmark grades’s premium to West Texas Intermediate was at $14.21, from $13.82 yesterday.
OPEC Output
OPEC, responsible for 40 percent of global crude supplies, pumped 31.58 million barrels a day last month, the group’s secretariat said in its Monthly Oil Market Report yesterday. That’s down from 31.64 million in April and exceeds its quota of 30 million agreed on in December.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would like to raise the output ceiling by 500,000 barrels a day, an OPEC delegate said yesterday, declining to be identified because member countries are still in talks. Iran, facing a European Union embargo on its oil exports, and Venezuela have been joined by Iraq and Angola in warning that global crude supplies are already excessive.
All 20 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News last week said they expect the group to keep its official daily production ceiling at 30 million barrels a day. A decision by OPEC to adjust output will depend on findings from the group’s economic committee, Iraq’s Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said in an interview yesterday.
Oil Stockpiles
Oil in New York is falling after a bearish “death cross” formed on the daily technical chart, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 50-day moving average, at $95.99 a barrel today, dropped below the 200-day mean at $96.41 for the first time since December. Investors typically sell contracts when the moving average for a shorter period falls below a longer one.
U.S. crude stockpiles climbed to 385.7 million barrels last week, the API data showed. An Energy Department report today may show supplies slipped 1.5 million barrels, according to the median estimate of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.
Gasoline inventories fell 878,000 barrels. They are forecast to rise 1.4 million barrels, according to the survey. Distillate stockpiles, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, climbed 519,000 barrels compared with a projected 1.2 million barrel gain in the government report.
The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department for its weekly survey.
The Energy Department increased its estimate for gasoline consumption this year to an average of 8.69 million barrels a day, it said yesterday in its Short-Term Energy Outlook. Last month’s projection was for demand of 8.67 million barrels a day. The department also cut its estimate for regular-grade gasoline at the pump to an average of $3.56 a gallon, down from $3.71.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in Singapore at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net