Oil Prices Erase Recent Gains

Oil Prices Erase Recent Gains
The WTI and Brent crude oil benchmarks on Monday largely erased the more than two-percent gains they posted at the end of last week.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil benchmarks on Monday largely erased the more than two-percent gains they posted at the end of last week.

The November WTI lost $1.11 Monday, settling at $53.59 per barrel. The light crude marker traded within a range from $52.77 to $54.90.

Brent crude oil for December delivery ended the day below the psychologically important $60-mark, shedding $1.16 to close at $59.35 per barrel.

“Oil just does not want to trade up,” Tom McNulty, Houston-based managing director with Great American Group, told Rigzone. “Very few news items or data releases seem to be able to move prices higher.”

A recent news item that helped to propel oil futures on Friday of last week was the Trump administration’s announcement that it reached a partial trade agreement with China. On Sunday, President Trump tweeted that tariffs on Chinese goods will not increase further and that a second-phase trade deal with China is on the horizon. Additionally, oil prices surged late last week following reports of an attack on an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

McNulty said that he expects oil prices to continue their descent.

“We are heading lower between now and the end of the year, only question is by how much,” he commented.

Also declining Monday was the price of reformulated gasoline (RBOB), with the November contract losing nearly three cents to settle at $1.61 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas, meanwhile, finished the day higher. The November gas price settled at $2.28, reflecting a seven-cent increase.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.



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