Oil Prices Steady, Supported By OPEC Tightening Supplies

[rainman + 263]

Oil prices were broadly steady on Friday as surging U.S. supply and concerns of a global economic slowdown were offset by falling OPEC output. International Brent crude futures were at $66.39 per barrel at 1231 GMT, up 8 cents from Thursday’s settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $57.38 per barrel, up 16 cents. “Oil prices are finely balanced in today’s trading session,” senior Interfax Energy analyst Abhishek Kumar said. The 14-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 30.68 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, a Reuters survey showed on Friday, down 300,000 bpd from January and the lowest OPEC total since 2015. In Venezuela, oil exports have plunged by 40 percent to around 920,000 barrels per day (bpd) since the U.S. government slapped sanctions on its petroleum industry on Jan. 28. OPEC, of which Venezuela is a founding member, is leading efforts to withhold around 1.2 million bpd of supply from the market to prop up prices. Venezuela is exempt from the cuts. “OPEC and its 10 allies are doing their job and this time they are stubborn,” London-based brokerage PVM said in a note, referring to the supply restrictions which have been in place since the start of the year.
 

[damirUSBiH + 327]

Gasoline at the pump where I live is over $2.50 a gallon again.  Up 40 cents in the last month.  

[pinto + 293]

Global oil storage is up 72 million barrels year-on-year despite OPEC's attempt to cut production; based on daily readings of 26,000 floating rooftop storage tanks. 

[50 shades of black + 254]

Interesting and true: OPEC scribe says U.S shale producers benefited from production cuts... 

[Pavel + 384]

Output from the 14 members of the OPEC fell by 560,000 barrels a day in February to 30.5 million a day, according to a Bloomberg survey of officials, analysts and ship-tracking data.