|
Japan's exports fell for a third month in February and U.S.
manufacturing output fell. Analysts at Bernstein Energy said on
Monday that while they expect oil demand to rise by 1.3 million
barrels per day (bpd) in 2019, a global slowdown could limit
growth to below 1 million bpd.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 26 cents to $66.90 a
barrel at 1025 GMT. It reached a 2019 high of $68.14 last week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 37 cents at $58.15.
Oil edged lower after an OPEC source said a panel meeting on
Monday to review progress with an OPEC-led supply cut deal is
recommending the producers cancel a policy meeting in April,
seen as a bearish outcome to the talks.
"It's a surprise, I don't think it was expected," said Olivier
Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix. "It's quite unusual to cancel
a meeting."
Brent still has gained around a quarter since the start of the
year due to supply cuts since Jan. 1 led by the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, and
U.S. sanctions on OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.
While Saudi Arabia has been cutting output by more than the
amount it is required to, cancelling the April meeting could
suggest an unwillingness by other OPEC and non-OPEC producers to
do more to bolster prices, Jakob said.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia signaled the producers may need to
extend the supply curbs of 1.2 million bpd, which run until
June, into the second half of 2019.
Rising oil output in the United States has helped to offset the
OPEC-led curbs.
U.S. crude oil production [C-OUT-T-EIA] increased at the start
of 2019, hitting a record 12.1 million bpd in February, data
from the Energy Information Administration showed.
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Louise
Heavens)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
