Oil prices drop before United States data

Brent crude slipped about 1 percent.

Saudi Arabia has raced ahead of Russian Federation to become the world’s leading oil producer, Sputnik news agency has quoted a the Emirati news website Aliqtisadi as saying in a report on Wednesday. The estimated number of miles traveled is a slight increase compared with a year ago, and the estimated number of travelers is the highest for Thanksgiving since 2007.

Security concerns fuelled by the shooting down of Russia’s warplane by Turkey hit the risk appetite hard and weighed on market sentiment. “Nothing really bullish is out there”. Despite the slight rebound, the heavy surplus is still bearish, and traders largely recognize the glut, said Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in NY. “Geopolitical tensions between Russian Federation and Turkey are limited in moving the actual prices of oil”.

Price falls that began in mid-2014 accelerated after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided in November 2014 to maintain output levels despite the weaker prices.

SEOUL – Crude oil futures fell on Friday with losses in November standing at more than 8%, hurt by disappointing Chinese economic data and worry over a supply glut.

“The market took it hard”, he added. The contract is up 0.6 percent this week. It is its sixth losing week in the past seven.

Brent for January settlement advanced 5 cents to end the session at $46.17/bbl on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices climbed 2.7% on Tuesday after Turkey shot down a Russian jet and Saudi Arabia repeated its willingness to stabilize world markets. But there is little indication so far the turmoil in the Middle East is affecting oil supply.

NEW YORK-Oil prices briefly dropped below $40 a barrel Wednesday before settling higher as the dollar pared gains.

The EIA said gasoline stockpiles US OIL rose 2.5 million barrels, versus the 938,000-barrel build forecast in the Reuters poll.

“OPEC has been extremely explicit that it will not cut production in the face of low prices, and with Iran coming back to the market, it will produce more than 32 million barrels per day”, said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodity analyst at SEB in Oslo. Spot gold rose slightly to $1,072.70 an ounce by 0634 GMT, after dropping 0.4 percent on Wednesday.