Commodities » Energy

Oil and natural gas daily review (November 16, 2009)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP:

U.S. crude futures fell on Friday on demand worries as souring consumer sentiment and a bigger trade deficit raised fresh concerns about the economic recovery.

IN FOCUS:

- OPEC should keep oil production unchanged at its last meeting of the year in December due to high oil stocks and weak fundamentals in the global economy, the group's president said on Friday. OPEC has kept official output targets unchanged at meetings this year, after it agreed to curb output by 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) last year.

- Iraq raised the official selling price for Basra light crude to U.S. buyers for December by 25 cents to $4.70 below the WTI benchmark, the State Oil Marketing Organisation said on Thursday.

- The U.S. Energy Information Administration report showed total domestic gas inventories hit another all-time high, climbing to 3.813 trillion cubic feet with at least one more weekly stock build possible before winter withdrawals begin.

- The number of rigs drilling for natural gas in the United States fell by six this week to 728, according to a report on Friday by oil services firm Baker Hughes in Houston.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK:

Outlook for crude remains firm for the day backed by weaker Dollar. Positive EZ inflation data and US Retail sales data too is expected to lend some support to crude oil prices for the day.