Oil markets search for a boost as Brent Crude holds at $60
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Brent crude oil prices hovered near $60 per barrel amid rising US crude inventories and global oversupply concerns, pushing both Brent and WTI benchmarks to five-month lows.
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In this Sept. 30, 2015, file photo, oil pumps work in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain (AP)
The global crude benchmark Brent held onto the key $60 per barrel psychological support as oil markets searched for a lifeline from the persistent oversupply concerns that have been choking demand during early US trading on Monday.
By 7:15 am US Eastern Time, UK-traded Brent crude was down 49 cents to $60.80 per barrel, which was a drop of 0.8%, after having tumbled more than 14% over the previous three weeks.
Bjarne Schieldrop, the chief commodities analyst at Stockholm-based SEB, wrote at the weekend in a commentary that appeared in the industry blog Rigzone that this week looks set for Brent crude to dip its feet in the $50s per barrel. The last time the global crude benchmark traded beneath $60 per barrel was in May when it reached a low of $58.50.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude was down 49 cents, or 0.9%, at $56.66 per barrel after the US crude benchmark had lost 13% over the prior three-week stretch.
Sharply higher forecasts for global crude inventories, along with US-China trade tensions, have weighed on WTI and Brent pricing since late September and have dragged the two benchmarks to five-month lows in recent days.
Crude prices came under fresh pressure last week after the US Energy Information Administration reported that commercial crude stocks jumped 3.5 million barrels to reach 423.8 million for the week ended October 10.
That build came after two prior weekly gains of 3.7 million and 1.8 million barrels, and with this latest addition, US inventories now stand at about 3.3 million barrels above the volumes reported a year ago.
Fuel inventories, meanwhile, fell at a lower pace as gasoline stockpiles slipped by only 300,000 barrels to 218.8 million, and while distillates, the source for diesel, did drop by a sizable 4.6 million barrels, that decline came after a build in the prior week.
Notwithstanding the US inventory situation, the International Energy Agency has forecasted a record crude stockpile of 4 million barrels for 2026.
