Singapore — Crude oil futures were stable to higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Tuesday, after a sharp retreat overnight, as the market paused ahead of the release of US crude inventory data that was widely expected to be bullish.
At 10:45 am Singapore time (0245 GMT), ICE September Brent crude futures were up 44 cents/b (0.61%) from Monday’s settle at $72.28/b, while the NYMEX August light sweet crude contract inched 2 cents/b (0.03%) higher to $68.08/b.
Crude oil futures had earlier fallen close to $3/b during Monday’s trading session on comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin and reports of increasing supply elsewhere, analysts said.
Putin said Monday during a joint briefing with US President Donald Trump that Russia and the US could work together to regulate international markets as producers in both countries were interested in curbing extreme price volatility.
“Prices are consolidating this morning post the overnight drop; some bargain hunting is helping to keep it a bit supported this morning,” said Phillips Futures investment analyst Benjamin Lu.
Expectations that US inventory data due for release in coming days would be bullish was also providing some price support, analysts said.
Analysts surveyed Monday by S&P Global Platts on Monday were expecting US crude stocks to have declined by 3 million barrels for the week ended June 13.
If confirmed by the data due for release by the US Energy Information Administration later Wednesday, it would mark the sixth draw in seven weeks since the beginning of June, a period in which US crude stocks have fallen by 31 million barrels.
Supply uncertainty stemming from an expected increase in output from OPEC and Russia and the shutdown of oil fields in Libya and Norway continue to inject volatility into prices, analysts said.
“We believe that price volatility is set to remain elevated as the market grapples with these large and uncertain supply shifts,” the Goldman Sachs analysts said.
As of 0245 GMT, the US Dollar Index was up 0.02% at 94.305
–Avantika Ramesh, [email protected]
–Edited by Wendy Wells, [email protected]
Source: S&P Global Platts
