Oil prices fall as focus switches to oversupply

By Aaron Sheldrick

TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Friday and were heading for a third weekly loss after Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor said the market could be heading into oversupply, as growth concerns took a hit with a slump in global equities this week.

Brent crude futures () were down 45 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $76.44 a barrel by 0140 GMT. The global benchmark is heading for a weekly loss of 4.2 percent.

U.S. crude () was down 56 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $66.77 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark is heading for a 3.4 percent loss this week.

Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor said on Thursday the oil market could face oversupply in the fourth quarter.

“The market in the fourth quarter could be shifting toward an oversupply situation as evidenced by rising inventories over the past few weeks,” Adeeb Al-Aama told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said there could be a need for intervention to reduce oil stockpiles after increases in recent months.

Falls in stock markets have roiled oil prices this week as Wall Street had its biggest daily decline since 2011

Financial markets have been hit hard by a range of worries, including the U.S.-China trade war, a rout in emerging market currencies, rising borrowing costs and bond yields, as well as economic concerns in Italy.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose last week for the fifth consecutive week, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said this week.

Supporting the bearish mood was a report that showed rising inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for U.S. crude futures.

Cushing crude stocks rose to 33 million barrels on Tuesday, up almost 1.8 million barrels from the previous week, traders said, citing a report by market intelligence firm Genscape.

(Graphic: U.S. oil production and storage levels – https://tmsnrt.rs/2OPukzK)

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.