Egypt joins Geneva negotiations on Global Plastics Treaty, calls for urgent agreement    Egypt delivers over 30 million health services through public hospitals in H1 2025    Madinet Masr in talks for three land plots in Riyadh as part of Saudi expansion    Egypt's PM tells Palestinian PM that Rafah crossing is working 24/7 for aid    Egypt, Japan discuss economic ties, preparations for TICAD conference    Real Estate Developers urge flexible land pricing, streamlined licensing, and dollar-based transactions    Egypt's Sisi pledges full state support for telecoms, tech investment    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



U.S. crude hits its biggest annual gain since 2009, up 45% on the year
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 31 - 12 - 2016

Oil prices dropped Friday, but U.S. crude still posted its biggest annual gain since 2009 after OPEC and other major producers agreed to cut output to reduce a global supply overhang that has depressed prices for two years.
U.S. benchmark West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled down 5 cents at $53.72. Brent front-month March crude oil futures were down 8 cents a barrel at $56.77 at 2:37 p.m. ET (1937 GMT).
WTI futures climbed 45 percent on the year, while Brent futures have risen by more than 52 percent in 2016. The gains in the oil market were the best since the 2009 rally, when Brent and WTI rose 78 percent and 71 percent respectively.
Futures held their losses as oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported U.S. drillers added oil rigs for a ninth straight week. The weekly count rose by 2 rigs to 525. At this time last year, drillers were operating 536 oil rigs.
Oil prices have more than halved since the summer of 2014, when it was above $100 a barrel. The fall in prices is due to oversupply, in part thanks to the U.S. shale oil revolution, was accentuated later that year when Saudi Arabia rejected any OPEC deal to cut output and instead fought for market share.
But a new agreement to reduce production by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), struck over three months from September this year, marks a return to the 13-country group's old objective of defending prices.
Oman told some customers it will reduce term allocations by 5 percent in March, but did not say whether the supply reduction would continue after that.
Although doubts remain as to the production cuts' effectiveness in implementation, the rise in prices can be seen as "proof of international credibility," for OPEC and partners, said Igor Yusufov, founder of the Fund Energy investment firm and a former Russian energy minister.
Equally as important to oil prices next year will be the development of demand globally, and major forecasters diverge in their predictions.
"We see a big variation in demand growth assessments for 2017, ranging from +1.22 million bpd (barrels per day) … to +1.57 million b/d," analysts at JBC said in a note to clients.
"Overall, all forecasters agree that Asia will remain the main engine for demand growth."
Oil will gradually rise towards $60 per barrel by the end of 2017, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, with further upside capped by a strong dollar, a likely recovery in U.S. oil output, and possible non-compliance with agreed cuts.
The market on Friday shrugged off an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, which rose 614,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 23 according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Analysts had expected a decrease of 2.1 million barrels.
Still, the rise in crude stocks in the EIA data was significantly smaller than in Wednesday's American Petroleum Institute (API) data that indicated a 4.2 million barrel build in U.S. crude oil stocks in the same period.
Gasoline stocks fell 1.6 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel rise.
The market is likely to have focused on the surprise draw in product stocks and taken a slightly more bullish view towards the WTI contract, traders said.
Source: Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.