*Hedge Funds Dump Oil as Outlook Worsens*
Hedge funds sold crude oil at the fastest rate in two years as the slightly bullish attitude towards the end of August disappeared completely into a bearish sentiment, triggering a sell off of nearly 171 million barrels of the most important petroleum futures according to Reuters.
*OPEC Sees Steeper Oil Demand Drop as Virus Remains Challenging*
World oil demand is expected to fall more steeply than forecast and recover more slowly due to the pandemic OPEC stated on Monday, making their job even tougher than already is. Demand is expected to fall by 9.46 million bpd, more than the previous figure quoted at 9.06 million bpd.
*Shell Curtails Production at Olympus Platform Due to Storm*
Shell is slowing production on its Olympus oil and natural gas platform say Reuters, as it prepares to batten down the hatches in the face of an impending tropical storm named Sally that is due to make landfall. Shell also started preparing their offshore drilling operations.
*Trafigura Sees no US Shale Growth Until end-2021 amid ‘Enforced Sabbatical’*
Trading House Trafigura does not expect to see any growth in the US shale market until the end of 2021 as the shale patch has entered into an enforced sabbatical. Ben Luckock, head of oil trading at the company said this, but insisted that it is not dead, reports from S&P state.