Oil prices edged lower on Monday, echoing a weaker tone on global stock markets after evidence that economic growth in China, the world’s second-largest crude consumer, eased in 2018. Brent crude oil futures were down 13 cents at $62.57 a barrel by 1207 GMT, while U.S. crude futures lost 10 cents at $53.70 a barrel. China’s 2018 economic growth slowed to the weakest in 28 years, data showed, at 6.6 percent versus 6.8 percent in 2017. Although the slowdown was in line with expectations and not as sharp as some ...

China’s oil market in 2019 will be shaped by uncertainties arising from a slowing economy, the US-China trade spat, refining overcapacity, readiness (or lack of) for IMO 2020 and fuel price deregulation, according to analysts and market participants. The overarching theme for the world’s second-largest oil consumer and largest oil importer is its economic deceleration that threatens to reverberate through the global oil market, which it has propped up precariously for years. This year started out on a strong note, with China’s crude oil imports for 2018 posting a 10.1% ...

Global oil demand remains on course to be stronger this year than in 2018 as a boost from lower fuel prices counters slowing economic activity, according to the International Energy Agency. “We have seen prices fall very significantly since the peak at the beginning of October, and that is providing some relief to consumers,” Neil Atkinson, head of the IEA’s oil industry and markets division, said in a Bloomberg television interview on Friday. Still, in its monthly report the agency acknowledged “the mood music in the global economy is not ...

Buoyed by the success of seismic imaging that found an extra billion barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is looking to take its latest technology to Angola and Brazil. The software used in the Gulf, based on an algorithm created by Xukai Shen, a geophysicist straight out of Stanford University, led to BP discovering the crude in an area where it had long thought there was none to be found. Industry experts said the scale of the discovery 8 km below BP’s Thunder Horse field, announced last ...

Oil prices fell on Monday, in line with weaker stock markets after evidence that economic growth in China, the world’s second largest crude consumer, eased in 2018. Brent crude oil futures were last down 35 cents on the day at $62.35 a barrel by 0946 GMT, while U.S. crude futures were down 23 cents at $53.57 a barrel. The broader financial markets were weaker after data showed China’s 2018 economic growth slowing to the weakest in 28 years, at 6.6 percent versus 6.8 percent in 2017. Although the slowdown was ...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published its first detailed monthly oil forecast for 2020 and it shows something that should strike fear into the hearts of OPEC ministers — from the fourth quarter, America will export more oil than it imports. This won’t make the U.S. independent of the global supply chain. It doesn’t mean that it will stop shipping in crude from the Middle East and Latin America, or bringing refined products from Europe and Asia. But it does show that the transformation of the country’s oil sector ...

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee of the OPEC and non-OPEC coalition has called on its members to redouble their efforts to ensure the oil market remains balanced in 2019, it said. The JMMC, which is responsible for closely monitoring the market and recommending appropriate response measures, also confirmed that it would meet on March 18 in Baku, Azerbaijan for its 13th meeting. Earlier in the week, OPEC said it would hold an extraordinary meeting on April 17 in Vienna, with Russia and nine other non-OPEC allies joining the talks the ...

Last week, commodity prices closed with affirmative gains with precious metals ending slightly positive while base metals complex finished with weekly gains of over 1 percent with the exception of Lead that lost 1 percent. Energy prices too joined the rally with crude oil and natural gas both gaining 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The markets remained optimistic over progress on US-China trade deal with China’s additional stimulus adding to the bullish sentiments. The upcoming senior level US-China meeting on January 30-31 will keep the markets on edge. Oil ...

Investors are the most optimistic on oil in two months as the worst fears that roiled markets at the end of the year start to dissipate. Hedge funds boosted their net wagers on rising Brent crude prices by 9 percent in the week ended Jan. 15, mostly because they continued to unwind a short-selling spree from the end of 2018, data from the ICE Futures Europe exchange show. The shift in sentiment culminated with the global benchmark closing at its highest in eight weeks on Friday after China was said ...

The monetary policy decisions of major central banks have continued to be a focus of economic analysis in recent months. In particular, the US Fed increased its target rate by 100 basis points (bps) in 2018, 25 bps more than expectations earlier in the year, mainly as a result of the additional impulse to economic activity provided by the government’s fiscal stimulus. However, concerns have emerged that the pace of monetary tightening could result in a faster-than-anticipated slowdown in the US economy in 2019. Indeed, the spread between the yield ...

The level of crude output from the U.S. will once again be a major factor this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said its closely-watched report on Friday, with the energy giant on track to reaffirm its position as the world’s leading crude producer. The IEA report comes shortly after OPEC and non-OPEC producers officially implemented a fresh round of supply cuts. Alongside Russia and nine other nations, top oil exporter Saudi Arabia struck a deal with the rest of OPEC in December to keep 1.2 million barrels per day ...

The U.S. oil sector growth cooled at the end of 2018, and lower oil prices eroded expectations for capital spending in 2019, a report released by Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Friday. According to the Energy Indicators, initial estimates of Texas mining employment showed growth moderating over the three months ending in November. Support activities for mining-mostly oilfield services companies and the more cyclical part of the industry slowed to an annual growth rate of 9.4 percent. Extraction-mostly exploration and production firms fell 2.1 percent. The slower growth was ...

Alberta’s crude curtailment plan has caused a dramatic rise in the price of heavy Canadian oil. But for shares of energy companies, it hasn’t been as much of a help. Since the production curtailment was unveiled early last month, Western Canadian Select crude has almost doubled to about $43 a barrel, narrowing its discount to benchmark U.S. oil to an almost decade-low of $6.95 a barrel on Jan. 11. Yet in that same time, the S&P/TSX Energy Index is up less than 4 percent. Driving the stagnant performance are the ...

Royal Dutch Shell is heavily investing in research and development of artificial intelligence (AI), which it hopes will provide solutions to some of its most pressing challenges. From meeting the demands of a transitioning energy market, urgently in need of cleaner and more efficient power, to improving safety on the forecourts of its service stations, AI is at the top of the agenda. I have been working with Shell over the past months to help create a data strategy, which gave me a thorough insight into Shell’s AI priorities and ...

The trading arm of Australian bank Macquarie Group has filed a lawsuit against Jupiter Marketing & Trading, alleging the U.S. firm breached contracts for oil purchase and storage. Macquarie is seeking some $17.5 million in fees and outstanding payments from Jupiter, according to the suit, which was filed on Thursday in Harris County District Court in Houston. Jupiter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Privately held Jupiter is one of several pipeline and storage suppliers racing to build crude export terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast. It ...