NYMEX Overview: Crude Pares Gains on Pre-Weekend Profit-Taking -- OPIS
22 December 2023 - 5:36PM
Dow Jones News
Crude-oil futures traded flat as some traders unwounded bullish
positions ahead of the long Christmas weekend, while supply
concerns amid increasing militant attacks on ships in the Red Sea
provided underlying support to the petroleum market.
At 11:45 a.m. EST on Friday, February NYMEX West Texas
Intermediate crude futures edged higher by about 10cts to $74/bbl,
and March WTI inched up 5cts to $74.10/bbl.
Earlier in the session, WTI futures had traded more than $1/bbl
higher, with those gains largely fizzling in midmorning
trading.
London-based ICE Brent crude for February delivery was 10cts
lower to $79.30/bbl and March Brent slipped 10cts to
$79.05/bbl.
For the week, WTI is still poised to rack up gains of $2-3/bbl,
and Brent is on track to increase more than $3/bbl.
An announcement by African oil producer Angola to exit OPEC also
led to some profit-taking. Angolan oil minister Diamantino Azevedo
on Thursday said membership in OPEC no longer served the country's
interest.
Key shipping companies as well as oil majors including BP and
Equinor announced this week they were avoiding the Red Sea due to
attacks by the Houthi militant group, which said its actions are a
response to Israel's attacks in Gaza. On Friday, shippers including
Maersk said they would impose extra charges related to re-routing
ships.
In the spot market, Los Angeles physical CARBOB gasoline
premiums jumped more than 30cts, a day after San Francisco also
posted a similar rally. The latest California Energy Commission
data showed refinery production of California's boutique gasoline
fell last week, which could be a sign of unplanned refinery
outages.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which
is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from
Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael
Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 22, 2023 12:21 ET (17:21 GMT)
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