Oil prices surge on sliding USA crude stockpiles

For the past week, crude imports averaged about 7.1 million barrels a day, down by 1.8 million barrels a day compared with the previous week.

Iran will be ready to decide on capping production once output reaches levels attained before global sanctions were imposed on the country, Mohsen Ghamsari, director for worldwide affairs at state-run National Iranian Oil Co., said in an interview in Singapore Thursday.

Many OPEC members are dependent on oil export revenue for their fiscal expenses. Brent hit a 12-year low of $27.10 a barrel in January.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia and other big Middle East crude exporters, will meet non-OPEC producers led by Russian Federation at informal talks in Algeria between September 26 and 28. Of course, there’s a risk of crying wolf. “There’s apprehension of crude restocking as we exit the gasoline season and we exit strong demand”, said Gene McGillian, senior analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. I don’t have any interest in buying this market, because quite frankly we’ve seen so much resistance all the way up to the $50 level. “Consumption is catching up with supply”. Keisuke Sadamori, director of energy markets and security at the International Energy Agency, told conference delegates that petroleum stocks haven’t substantially declined yet.

Futures maintained their gains after Chinese government data showed the country’s oil imports rose to their highest level of the year last month, the latest sign that China’s appetite for foreign crude remains voracious amid depressed oil prices. WTI crude settled at $45.50 on Wednesday. Recently though, it’s worth noting that the oversupply of oil is expected to run into next year, which of course is very bearish.

Another surprising element in the EIA’s weekly oil data was the sharp decline in USA oil imports, which fell by 1.85 million barrels per day (mbpd) for the week ending September 2. Energy Information Administration data are forecast to show a 905,000-barrel gain, according to a Bloomberg survey. October natural gas fell 3.9 cents, or 1.4%, to $2.678 per million British thermal units.

NEW YORK – Oil prices soared more than 4% on Thursday after US inventory data showed a surprisingly large drawdown in crude stocks, driven by fewer imports into the US Gulf Coast due to Tropical Storm Hermine last week.