What's Moving the Oil Markets?

What's Moving the Oil Markets?

•ICE Brent futures plunged over a dollar on Monday morning to the lowest levels seen since October 12 as the crude complex shrugged off news of confirmed cuts in crude sales by OPEC lynchpin Saudi Arabia to focus on refinery maintenance in the US and warm weather in the US and Europe.

•Saudi Arabia announced that it would remove 1.2 million b/d from crude sales in November primarily to the far east. However, one broker suggested that this cut has not had the required clout to elbow crude higher as it has long been expected and factored in. He added that skepticism remains over the extent that other OPEC members will follow suit.

•"The market is looking at other factors depressing the market like ongoing refinery turnarounds in the US which means less crude being taken off the market and the mild weather which is a concern on both sides of the Atlantic."

•On Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released bearish data regarding positions in crude futures and options markets, said one London-based broker.

Updated: 10/23/06

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