Friday 29 Mar 2024
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HONG KONG (Jan 15): Oil headed for its third weekly decline after dropping below $30 a barrel as U.S. crude stockpiles expanded and Iran moved closer to increasing exports, exacerbating a global glut.

Futures lost as much as 1.3 percent in New York and are down 7.1 percent for the week. Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the biggest U.S. storage hub, rose further to a record as nationwide inventories increased, Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday. Brent also slipped below $30 amid signs international sanctions on Iran may be lifted Monday, allowing for a boost in oil shipments.

“Lower oil prices have been a sentiment leader for the recent market selloff and will again be in focus with Iranian sanctions expected to be lifted next week,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said in a note Friday. “How fast Iran can put oil back on the market will now be a key issue for oil markets, with many skeptical that it will be able to do this nearly as fast as it has forecast.”

Crude capped a second annual loss in 2015 as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries effectively abandoned production limits amid a global surplus. Iran is trying to regain lost market share and doesn’t intend to pressure prices with an export increase once sanctions are removed, officials from its petroleum ministry and national oil company said this month.

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery dropped as much as 41 cents to $30.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $30.82 at 9:15 a.m. Hong Kong time. The contract rose 72 cents to $31.20 on Thursday. Prices slid below $30 Tuesday for the first time in 12 years. Total volume traded was about 43 percent above the 100-day average. Prices have lost 17 percent this year.

Brent for March settlement was 14 cents lower at $30.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The February contract expired Thursday after gaining 72 cents to $31.03. Prices dropped below $30 Wednesday for the first time since April 2004. The European benchmark widened to a discount of as much as $1.07 to WTI for March, the biggest intraday gap since 2010.

 

 

 

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