Black Friday is Now! Don’t miss out on up to 60% OFF InvestingProCLAIM SALE

UPDATE 9-Crude oil down, extending 2-week slide on product glut worry

Published 27/10/2015, 03:20 am
© Reuters. UPDATE 9-Crude oil down, extending 2-week slide on product glut worry
GS
-
LCO
-
CL
-
LGO
-
NG
-
NYF
-

* Brent down about half percent, U.S. crude 1 pct lower

* Crude prices lost about 10 pct past 2 weeks

* Oil prices risk falling again in spring - Goldman

* Product cargoes queuing outside European ports (New throughout, updating market activity and prices to U.S. session; changes byline and previous LONDON dateline)

By Barani Krishnan

NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Crude prices edged lower on Monday, staying under pressure after two straight weeks of losses, on worries that the oversupply in oil products could swell from unseasonably warm weather and the waning maintenance cycle for U.S. refineries.

Influential Wall Street trading house Goldman Sachs (N:GS) warned of downside risk for oil prices through spring 2016 as U.S. and European storage utilization for distillates, which include diesel, neared historic highs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12Q256

Traders told Reuters that as refined oil product storage tanks fill up, unwanted diesel and jet fuel cargoes were backing up outside Europe's ports and taking longer, slower routes around the southern tip of Africa. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12N365

"There's talk in the market about ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel) storage potentially reaching 'tank tops', and that's weighing on crude," said Dave Thompson of Washington-based broker Powerhouse.

Brent LCOc1 , the global benchmark for crude, was down 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $47.79 a barrel by 11:28 a.m. EDT (1528 GMT). U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 43 cents, or about 1 percent, to $44.17.

ULSD futures HOc1 in the U.S. and gas oil in London LGOc1 were also down about 1 percent.

Both crude benchmarks have lost about 10 percent over the past two weeks combined.

Goldman it would take 50 fewer heating degree days (HDDs) than normal in Europe for storage there to hit tank tops.

HDDs are measured by the difference between the average temperature outside and the 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) level, which is deemed to be neutral indoors for heating. The lower the reading, the less energy products such as heating oil and natural gas are expected to be required for heating.

"While our distillate balances suggest that stocks will fall short of capacity, the margins of error are small and the risks high, leaving risks to current crude oil prices and timespreads as skewed to the downside through next spring," analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote.

Investments in oil are likely to decline further in 2016 after sliding this year by more than a fifth, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12Q1A9

"If it comes true, this will be the first time in two decades we will see oil investments declining for two consecutive years and may be an indication for future oil markets," Birol said at Singapore International Energy Week.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Chart on Brent oil

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/US/2/PVB_20152610091537.png Chart on U.S. oil

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/US/2/PVB_20152610090817.png

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.