Iran Oil Minister Sees No Change in OPEC Output Policy

Brent for December delivery was down 8 cents at $50.38 a barrel as of 0142 GMT after settling up 73 cents on Friday.

Iran plans to increase crude production by 500,000 barrels per day within a week of the lifting of sanctions, a senior Iranian oil official was quoted as saying on Monday, selling the oil to traditional customers in Asia and Europe.

US oil inventories rose by 8 million barrels last week, as another week of refinery downtime meant fewer barrels of oil were processed and more flowed into storage.

The chart below compares changes in crude oil inventory levels this year versus the average changes over the last ten years and since 1983. The December 2016 futures price for a barrel of Brent crude is $55.75.

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a rise in United States commercial crude stocks of 7.1 million barrels to 473 million barrels in the week to October 16, trumping expectations for an increase of 3.9 million barrels.

Crude oil fell 3 percent on Monday as tumbling gasoline prices deepened a selloff sparked by China’s slowing growth and signs that a nuclear deal waiving sanctions on Iranian oil will be implemented this year.

Rising US crude stockpiles aside, OPEC’s inability to get oil producers to agree to meaningful measures to boost prices will also weigh on the market, the traders said. But he added that there isn’t much evidence of the market balancing sooner than the end of next year given the reluctance of the Russian Federation and other countries to trim output.

The government said gross domestic product (GDP) for the world’s second-biggest economy rose 6.9 percent in the three months to September, beating market forecasts but still the worst since the global financial crisis in 2009. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI futures were trading down 0.1 percent at $46.25 a barrel.

A meeting of oil exports from OPEC and non-member countries ended on Wednesday without any concrete price support measures despite discussing the risk low oil prices would have on investment in new supplies.

Asian equities got off to a sluggish start on Wednesday as concerns about corporate earnings hobbled Wall Street while investors counted down to the European Central Bank’s policy meeting later in the week.