|
 Crude prices have fallen for three weeks in a row on expectations of
increased oil sales from Iran following a deal to ease sanctions
against the OPEC producer.
Brent crude for September was down 35 cents at $56.75 a barrel by
1100 GMT. The benchmark fell nearly 3 percent last week and is down
more than 10 percent so far this month.
U.S. crude futures for August were down 13 cents at $50.76 a barrel.
The August contract expires on Tuesday.
The dollar's strengthening added further pressure as it makes
dollar-priced commodities more expensive for investors using other
currencies.
Saudi Arabia's crude exports fell in May to their lowest since
December, with official data showing daily shipments at 6.935
million barrels per day (bpd) compared with 7.737 million bpd in
April, despite record-high output of over 10 million bpd.
In the United States, drillers cut seven oil rigs last week
following two weeks of increases, according to a closely watched
report by oil services company Baker Hughes Inc.
However, as refineries around the world continue to operate at near
maximum levels to benefit from strong profit margins, there are
signs a glut in the crude oil market may be shifting to refined
products.
"The big fall in U.S. rig counts since last September has not had a
negative impact on domestic production and the reduction in Saudi
crude oil exports is due to domestic refinery demand as the Kingdom
is turning into a significant product exporter," analysts at PVM
wrote.
[to top of second column] |
Refined product inventories at Europe's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp
storage hub rose to an all-time record last week.[ARA/]
Strong increases in refinery operations in recent months are set to
slow in the second half of this year, hitting demand for crude oil,
Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy said:
"We expect global crude runs to be in the process of peaking for
this year."
(Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by
Christopher Johnson and Dale Hudson)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
