Oil posts first monthly gain since July despite rising supplies

Jacqueline Melliek, Bloomberg

Publishing

Thursday, October 31, 2019 3:09 PM CDT

Oil prices posted their first monthly profits since July after the biggest decline in three weeks due to Saudi supply growth and global trade.

Futures in New York fell 1.6{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} Thursday, but the month nevertheless rose slightly. JBC Energy Consultant said Saudi Arabia increased its daily production to about 9.9 million barrels just a few weeks after missile attacks on critical facilities. Supply is growing as a sign that Chinese officials are resisting US President Donald Trump's major trade needs.

Ashley Petersen, senior oil market analyst at New York Stratas Advisors, said, "You have to watch trade deals." "This will be a problem mid-year, so there will be more weekly volatility in the future."

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In addition to international developments such as Saudi recovery and China trade, TCTC Energy Corp. declared force majeure after closing major US pipelines due to oil spills. Canadian drillers may also add crude oil supplies to the market after the government reduces production of companies that will ship Albertan oil via rail.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery lost 88 cents at $ 54.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Closed 0.2 percent higher month.

December's Brent, which expired on Thursday, fell 38 cents to $ 60.23 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. Global benchmark crude oil fell 0.9{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} this month and traded at a $ 6.05 premium against WTI.

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Chinese policymakers gathered in Beijing for a major political meeting to be decided Thursday. In a conversation ahead of the plenum, some officials lowered expectations that future trade negotiations would have meaningful results unless the US rolled back more tariffs. Trump said the two countries are selecting new sites to sign one of the larger trade agreements.

Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell Plc cautioned next year and expectations for oil prices in 2020 are falling, with Jessica Uhl, Chief Financial Officer.

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