Oil futures mostly lower as investors eye production levels in US and OPEC
On Tuesday crude-oil futures moved in a narrow price range in Asian trade, as investors closely watched oil production levels in the
U.S. and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May CLK5 traded at $56.19 a barrel, down $0.34 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude LCOM5 on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.18 to $63.26 a barrel.
In the last trading session, oil prices were mixed, with Nymex crude settling 1.2% higher, while Brent crude remained unchanged.
According to analyst Tim Evans at Citi Futures, speculation that oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for Nymex WTI futures may have dipped over the second half of last week may have helped to support the market.
However, both U.S. total commercial crude stocks and
Cushing inventories are likely to indicate at least a moderate further
build for the week ended April 17 as a whole, he said. The oil
inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute is due later
Tuesday, followed by the more closely-watched report from the U.S.
Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
Market players have started to speculate whether OPEC will make any changes to its stance of maintaining oil production levels, as the next meeting is scheduled for June 5.
“Although it’s hard to predict how the views within OPEC may shift between now and June 5, we think it’s not too soon to consider how different policy options might translate into oil price levels,” Mr. Evans said.
In the meantime, the U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the Yemeni coast to join a growing fleet of ships keeping watch on an Iranian flotilla American defense officials suspect may be carrying arms for Houthi fighters in Yemen.
