Brent crude futures prices rose during early Asian trading due to potential supply disruption risks in the Middle East.

As of 12:00 PM Beijing time, the January Brent crude contract price is $74.11/barrel, up $1.30/barrel from the settlement price on October 31, with the contract closing price rising 65 cents/barrel compared to the previous trading day.

The WTI crude oil price for December is $70.61/barrel, an increase of $1.35/barrel from the settlement price on October 31, with the contract closing price rising 65 cents/barrel compared to the previous trading day.

Although Israel avoided Iranian energy facilities in its retaliatory strikes, the Middle East remains vigilant against potential supply disruptions.

Traders are also closely watching next week's U.S. presidential election and an upcoming OPEC meeting for signals on when the organization will reintroduce crude oil to the market.

U.S. crude oil production increased by 1.5% in August, setting a new historical high.

The average production in August was 13.4 million barrels per day, up from 13.2 million barrels per day the previous month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report on October 31.

Texas—accounting for 43% of the nation's crude oil production—produced 5.82 million barrels per day in August, setting a new monthly record. This is an increase from 5.72 million barrels per day in July, marking the sixth increase in the past seven months for the state. The production in August 2023 was 5.6 million barrels per day.

According to EIA data, U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 515,000 barrels last week, with net imports declining. For the week ending October 25, U.S. crude oil inventories fell to 425.5 million barrels, down from 426 million barrels the previous week. Inventories are still about 3.6 million barrels higher than the same time last year.

U.S. gasoline demand in August rose in the last month of the summer driving season, but still remained over 500,000 barrels below pre-COVID-19 average levels.

(The above content comes from the latest views of the independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency Argus)

Article reposted from: Jinshi Data