Brent crude fell $1.37, or 3.2%, to settle at $40.93 a barrel after dropping to a low of $39.92. U.S. WTI down $1.50, or 3.7%, at $38.72 after sliding more than 6% to a session low of $37.61.
Major news overnight that made headlines was that Trump had tweeted he and the First Lady had tested positive for Coronavirus, at which point Brent fell over a dollar to $39.40 per barrel. The President has had to cancel rallies over the next few days in what is one of the most pivotal parts for his time in office, if he has any chance at securing a second term in the White House. The next live televised debate is due in 2 weeks, which could be cutting it fine if Trump is able to attend after his 2 week quarantine in Washington.
Oil markets were spooked at 1530BST on reports that Iran had failed in its duty to comply with the OPEC+ cuts on Thursday. It is thought that levels in September were very similar to those exported in August which signals that the cuts that were due in production were not adhered to, imposed to make up for overproduction in May and July. Expected cuts that were agreed amounted to 400,000 bpd in August and September. Russia, which is required to make the second largest cuts in production of 330,000 bpd are yet to produce their planned output for Q4. (S&P Global Platts)
Saudi Arabia’s economy is reported to have contracted by 7% on the year, combined with the highest unemployment rate on record after the crash in the oil prices hit the Saudi economy hard. The oil sector shrank by 5.3% whilst the non-oil sector shrank by 8.2% thanks to lockdowns due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. Value of exports of goods and services fell by 55.8%, mainly due to the fall in the value of oil exports at around 61.8%. (Oilprice.com)
The big oil firms are looking to offload up to $110billion of refineries, oil field and gas fields in a bit to pay off debts and finance agreements as well as reducing their carbon footprint in the shift towards renewable and greener energies. The oil field are expected to hold up to 68 billion barrel of oil and experts are expecting smaller oil companies to snap up the assets at a deal as the pool of buyers narrow and global finances are not as strong as they were in 2019. (Reuters)
MARKETS NEWS:
* Iraq, Fretting Over Oil Market, Reaffirms Vow to OPEC+ Cuts
* Saudi Crude Exports Surge to Four-Month High in September
* UAE’s Oil Exports Hit 23-Month Low as OPEC+ Pressure Ramps Up
* Colombia August Oil Production Rose 1% M/M to 742,091 B/D
* Mideast-China VLCC Rates Rise; Europe-U.S. Clean Tankers Drop
* Iran Tanker Tracker: Flows Slip; First Cargo Reaches Venezuela
* Qatar Tanker Tracker: Sept. Flows Drop to Least Since Early 2017
* Oman Tanker Tracker: Flows Hit 5-Mo. High on Stronger China Pull
* NSEA Tanker Tracker: Floating Storage Reappears, May Rise More
* U.S. Gulf Tracker: Crude Exports Inched Higher Despite Storms
* LOOP Delivers Over 425K Bbl Sour Crude in September
* Caspian CPC Blend Exports Revised Up to 5-Month High in October
OTHER NEWS:
* Exxon Flags Further Losses That Add to Pressure on Dividend
* Shell Shares Fall to 25-Year Low After Reorganization Update
* Premier Creditors Poised to Block BP Deal, Urge Chrysaor Merger
* Occidental to Sell Onshore Colombian Oil Fields to Carlyle Group
* Lightsource BP Completes Financing for Colorado Solar Project
PHYSICAL CRUDE NEWS:
* ASIA: Four BP Singapore Oil Traders Leave; Sakhalin Blend
* LATAM: Brazil Exports Up; Oxy Sells Onshore Colombia
* US/CANADA: Gulf Crude Exports Inched Higher Despite Storms
* NSEA: Two Cargoes Deferred; Litasco Lowers Troll Bid
* MED: Shell Buys Urals at Lower Price; Algeria Flows Plunge
* WAF: September Flows at Lowest Since 2018; Sasol Tender
OIL PRODUCT NEWS:
* U.S.: Illinois, Tennessee Refinery Units Are Shut
* EUROPE: Refiner Struggle; ARA Stocks; Exxon Antwerp
* ASIA: India’s Gasoline Sales Rise Y/y; Diesel Lags
ECONOMIC DATA/EVENTS: (Times are London.)
* 6pm: Baker Hughes weekly rig count report
* 6:30pm: ICE Commitments of Traders report
* 8:30pm: CFTC Commitments of Traders report
* China public holiday
ANALYST VIEWS/COLUMNS:
* U.S. Fuel Oil Buying Pushed Saudis to Import from Asia: Vortexa
OTHER FINANCIAL MARKETS:
* Stocks Slip, Dollar Climbs on Stimulus Impasse: Markets Wrap
Singapore 380 INDIC
Nov20 227.50 / 229.50
Dec20 229.00 / 231.00
Jan21 230.75 / 232.75
Feb21 232.50 / 234.50
Mar21 234.25 / 236.25
Apr21 235.75 / 237.75
Q1-21 232.50 / 234.50
Q2-21 237.25 / 239.25
Q3-21 241.75 / 243.75
Q4-21 244.75 / 247.75
CAL21 239.00 / 245.00
Rotterdam 3.5% INDIC
Nov20 213.25 / 215.25
Dec20 214.00 / 216.00
Jan21 216.00 / 218.00
Feb21 217.75 / 219.75
Mar21 219.50 / 221.50
Apr21 221.25 / 223.25
Q1-21 217.75 / 219.75
Q2-21 223.00 / 225.00
Q3-21 226.25 / 228.25
Q4-21 227.50 / 230.50
CAL21 223.25 / 229.25
Singapore VLSFO 0.5% INDIC
Nov20 298.25 / 303.25
Dec20 297.50 / 302.50
Jan21 297.00 / 302.00
Feb21 297.50 / 302.50
Mar21 298.50 / 303.50
Apr21 299.50 / 304.50
Q1-21 297.75 / 302.75
Q2-21 300.50 / 305.50
Q3-21 303.75 / 309.75
Q4-21 307.50 / 313.50
CAL21 302.25 / 308.25
Rott VLSFO 0.5% INDIC
Nov20 280.00 / 285.00
Dec20 279.75 / 284.75
Jan21 280.25 / 285.25
Feb21 281.25 / 286.25
Mar21 282.50 / 287.50
Apr21 283.75 / 288.75
Q1-21 281.25 / 286.25
Q2-21 285.00 / 290.00
Q3-21 288.25 / 294.25
Q4-21 291.50 / 297.50
CAL21 286.25 / 292.25
Sing 10ppm GO INDIC
Nov20 42.68 / 42.82
Dec20 43.15 / 43.35
Jan21 43.63 / 43.83
Feb21 44.10 / 44.30
Mar21 44.57 / 44.77
Apr21 45.10 / 45.30
Q1-21 44.05 / 44.35
Q2-21 45.49 / 45.79
Q3-21 46.81 / 47.11
Q4-21 47.63 / 47.93
CAL21 45.95 / 46.35
ICE Gasoil 10ppm INDIC
Nov20 320.52 / 322.52
Dec20 324.66 / 326.66
Jan21 329.64 / 331.64
Feb21 334.53 / 336.53
Mar21 338.13 / 340.13
Apr21 341.91 / 343.91
Q1-21 334.10 / 336.10
Q2-21 344.13 / 346.13
Q3-21 356.06 / 358.06
Q4-21 362.89 / 364.89
CAL21 349.29 / 351.29
Rott Hi5 Sing Hi5
Nov20 68 72
Dec20 67 70
Jan21 66 68
Feb21 65 67
Mar21 64 66
Apr21 64 65
Q1-21 65 67
Q2-21 64 65
Q3-21 64 64
Q4-21 66 64
CAL21 63 63