Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg
Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg

Oil pares gains as industry is said to post surprise crude build



Oil pared gains after an industry report was said to show US crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose last week.

Inventories increased by 1.63 million barrels in data from the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute released Tuesday, people familiar with the report said. That would be the largest build since June if confirmed by Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday. Gasoline supplies slid by 5.45 million barrels, while stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma increased by 608,000 barrels, the API was said to report.

“I do expect a modest draw in crude,” James Williams, an economist at London, Arkansas-based energy-research firm WTRG Economics, said by telephone. But if the EIA confirms API’s crude build, “I think we see crude prices go down. There’s no doubt about it. We certainly consider returning to the bear market trend.”

West Texas Intermediate for August delivery traded at US$46.25 a barrel at 5:01 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after settling at $46.40 a barrel. Total volume traded was about 3 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent for September settlement advanced 42 cents to end the session at $48.84 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.25 to WTI.

Oil has hovered below $50 amid concerns that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies won’t be able shrink a longstanding glut, as producers such as the US and Libya ramp up output. Citigroup Inc. cut its oil-price forecasts for this year and next as Libya and Nigeria restore previously halted supplies and US production climbs.

Earlier in the session, oil rose as much as 2 percent following a report from U.K.-based consultant Petroleum Policy Intelligence saying Saudi Arabia is considering cutting exports further by as much as 1 million barrels a day to offset the rise in output from Libya and Nigeria.

Ecuador Oil Minister Carlos Perez said he spoke to Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih and that both countries are committed to reducing inventories to a “normal” level, a day after he said the South American country would need to increase output to boost revenue.

“The market is waiting for the proof in the pudding,” Michael Loewen, a strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto, said by phone. “There’s a lot of chatter these days. If Saudi Arabia is actually going to reduce exports” investors will need to see it in tanker-tracking data before they believe it, he said.

Saudi Arabia crude oil exports fell to 6.924 million barrels a day in May from 7.006 million barrels a day in April, according to JODI data. Iraq’s crude exports rose 1.7 percent to 3.818 million barrels a day, the data showed.

OPEC member Kuwait last week said Libya and Nigeria may be asked to cap their oil output amid concern about their rebounding production.

Libya will participate in a technical meeting with fellow OPEC members as well as Russia in St. Petersburg on July 22 to share the “factors enabling and constraining Libya’s production recovery,” Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of the National Oil Corp., said on Tuesday. Supplies from Libya have increased to 1.1 million barrels a day, according to a person familiar with the matter.

US crude inventories probably decreased 3.5 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an EIA report Wednesday. Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest US oil-storage hub, probably fell by 1.5 million barrels last week, according to a forecast compiled by Bloomberg.

*Bloomberg

The biog

Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi

Favourite TV show: That 70s Show

Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving

Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can

Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home

Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Match info

Uefa Champions League Group C

Liverpool v Napoli, midnight

The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali

Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km

Brief scoreline:

Manchester United 0

Manchester City 2

Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The team

Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory 
Videographer: Jear Valasquez 
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory 
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat 
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova 
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi 

 
MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

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The biog

Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."

Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell 

Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press