Oil fluctuates near US$94 with OPEC+ meeting looming
BNN Bloomberg
Oil prices swung between gains and losses after closing at the lowest level in more than five months, as traders counted down to an OPEC+ meeting on supply amid signs that physical markets have eased in recent weeks.
West Texas Intermediate climbed less than 1 per cent, having lost almost 5 per cent on Monday on concern a global economic slowdown will erode energy demand. Equity markets fell again Tuesday as worries over a recession -- and rising US-China tension over Taiwan -- drove investors toward havens.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are due to gather virtually on Wednesday to decide on output policy for September. As the meeting nears, oil’s backwardation -- a bullish pattern -- has narrowed. Meanwhile, the West African market flashed weakness as Dalia crude was offered at a discount to its benchmark on Monday.
Oil has opened August on a weak footing after declining the prior two months on demand concerns. The drop has wiped out almost all of the gains seen since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, even after Washington and the European Union imposed a raft of sanctions on Russian energy exports.
