As of 04:00 GMT, the price of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) January 2024 Brent crude oil futures contract is $74.73 per barrel, down 80 cents from the settlement price on November 5, while the previous trading day's settlement price was up 45 cents from the day before.
The price of the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) December 2024 crude oil futures contract is $71.31 per barrel, down 68 cents from the settlement price on November 5, while the previous trading day's settlement price was up 52 cents from the day before.
Market focus is on the U.S. presidential election. The competition between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris has significant implications for energy policy, trade, and climate change. Election officials stated that the counting process will take time, including mail-in ballots received over the coming days.
The Federal Reserve plans to hold its monthly meeting on November 6-7. The U.S. employment report released on November 1 indicates an increased likelihood of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.
Traders are also awaiting the weekly inventory data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA's last report indicated that for the week ending October 25, inventories decreased by 515,000 barrels to 425.5 million barrels.
According to data from oil analytics firm AlphaBBL, U.S. crude oil inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, rose for the second consecutive week, increasing by 600,000 barrels to 25.3 million barrels for the week ending November 1, while inventories at key Texas terminals also rose by 1.7 million barrels to 50.1 million barrels.
Some oil producers, including Shell and BP, have evacuated some offshore workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the hurricane threat later this week. As Tropical Storm Rafael strengthens, it is moving toward the Cayman Islands and is expected to enter the southeastern Gulf of Mexico later on November 6.
The South African government plans to repair and expand the closed 180,000 barrels per day Sapref refinery located in KwaZulu-Natal province, according to the state-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF), which will create a facility with at least 600,000 barrels per day capacity.
CEF reached an agreement in May to acquire Sapref from BP and Shell. Sapref was once South Africa's largest refinery, accounting for about 35% of the country's refining capacity, but it was closed in 2022. Previously, Engen's 105,000 barrels per day Durban refinery was closed in 2020.
(The above content is from the latest views of independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency Argus.)
Article reposted from: Jinshi Data