Oil falls on news of Saudi Production Increase
Published Mar 10, 2013 08:49PM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for April deliver are off 0.20% to USD91.77 per barrel in Asian trading Monday.
Last week, New York-traded oil futures tacked on 1.1%, the first weekly gain in three, helped by a surprisingly strong U.S. February jobs report. A report released by the Labor Department last Friday showed U.S. employers added 236,000 new jobs last month and that the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in January. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer.
Robust economic activity, particularly in the world’s biggest oil-consuming nations, is often viewed as a positive sign for oil demand and demand for oil byproducts such as diesel and gasoline.
On Monday, however, oil is trading lower as traders digest news of a production increase from Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The kingdom is expected to have pumped 9.15 million barrels per day last month, an increase of 100,000 barrels per day.
In January, Saudi Arabia’s output fell to its lowest levels in nearly two years. OPEC, the 12-nation group that accounts for about 40% of global oil production, collectively pumped 30.7 million barrels per day in February.
Some analysts expect Saudi Arabia could pump up to 9.6 billion barrels per day at some point this year year, but that would still be below the average of 9.9 million barrels per day seen last year.
Elsewhere, oil workers in the African nation of Gabon have gone on strike, which could hamper the country’s average output of 240,000 barrels per day. European oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and Total are among the largest producers in Gabon.
Meanwhile, Brent futures for May delivery fell 0.11% to USD109.86 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.