China Wants More Meetings Before Signing First Phase of Trade Deal
October 15, 2019
Crude oil and refined fuel products price closed lower yesterday by approximately 2%, which was mainly due to less optimism about the first phase of the China and US trade deal. The market is still trying to digest the details of this deal. China now says they want to hold further meetings before signing phase one as it is now being called.
Kuwait’s oil minister said yesterday it was too early to discuss a possible buildup of oil inventories for 2020 and that an oil price range of $50 to $70 was acceptable to OPEC in general.
Also helping to put some negative pressure on prices was Saudi Arabia saying their oil production should recover in October and November to levels above those before the attacks on its oil facilities.
Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, said an Iranian tanker damaged in the Red sea on Friday had been hit by at least two rockets and there is video footage of the incident. Iranian authorities reported that the Iranian-owned tanker, the Sabiti, was struck off Saudi Arabia’s coast. There has been no independent report of the cause of the damage. He said the attack was undoubtedly carried out by a government and that there would be consequences.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said it was important to concentrate on the stability of the oil market rather than the price of oil and that a fair price was a stable price. He said oil exporters taking part in the global output deal with OPEC and non-OPEC producers were showing serious commitments to the cuts.
The market is flat so far in today’s trading with the Columbus Day on Monday the API and DOE inventory reports will be pushed back one day. API on Wednesday and DOE on Thursday.