I just wonder if the Saudi's are so pissed at Obama that not only did they skip his meeting along with others in the region for his initiative of nuclear talks about Iran.. Because of that they are flooding the crude oil market..
It appears that the Saudi's are willing to support weaker middle east company's with subsidies to maintain higher production while knowing it will at the same time destroy oil production from shale in the US and Canada.. While at the same time pissing on Obama's pet project of renewable energy.. lower Oil prices makes renewable energy just much further away..
Obama could release restrictions on Nat. gas and Coal but there is little chance of that s until then we are the tail wagging the dog.. IMO..
Oil prices edged lower Monday after Saudi Arabia posted its highest level of monthly exports in nearly 10 years and an Iranian official said OPEC would likely decide to keep production steady at its meeting next month.
The two developments added to a bearish backdrop colored by a stronger dollar that discouraged foreign buyers and data from a private forecasting agency that showed U.S. oil inventories fell less than expected last week.
Taken together, they put the brakes on a surge in oil prices that have risen nearly 40% since late March on the expectation that production curtailments and a recovering global economy would eventually bring supply and demand back into balance.
Escalating tensions in the Middle East drove the market higher in overnight trading. The U.S. benchmark contract was up 2% overnight after Islamist rebels captured the western Iraqi city of Ramadi and Iran risked conflict with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as it sent an aid ship to Yemen, where Saudis are bombarding Shiite rebel groups.
But concerns over the tensions gave way and the market sold off after data raised new bearish scenarios for oil prices. Saudi Arabia reported it exported 7.898 million barrels of crude a day in March, increasing from February and January levels to their highest point since November 2005. The data was a reminder that global crude surpluses are large and continuing to expand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that global supply growth is likely to outpace demand by about 1.3 million barrels a day through the end of this year.
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And an Iranian oil ministry official, speaking at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was quoted as saying the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is unlikely to cut production or change course from current levels when the group meets June 5 in Vienna. OPEC’s decision to keep crude production steady last November despite surging U.S. and global production sent the market into a freefall.
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