Market Close: Nov 28 Down ULSD Down 16.5 cents
Nov 29th, 2014 by loren
www.fuelmanagerservices.com then click on buy-additive
Oil futures on Friday settled at their lowest in five years as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ decision to keep crude production the same heightened fears that the existing glut in the oil market would persist. It was the first chance for U.S. markets to react to the cartel’s move, announced Thursday, and the flurry of selling intensified as closing time neared — adding to downward momentum that was already threatening to be severe. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January was off $7.54, or 10%, to settle at $66.15 a barrel on Friday. That was the lowest settlement for a front-month oil contract since Sept. 25, 2009, and it brought crude’s monthly losses to 18%, the largest one-month percentage decline since December 2008. On the week, futures declined nearly 14%.
January Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $2.43, or 3.4%, to finish at $70.15 a barrel. That was Brent’s lowest settlement since May 25, 2010. Brent had fallen more than 6% on Thursday, when the Nymex floor trading was closed for Thanksgiving. Brent, viewed as the global oil benchmark, also lost 18% on the month. Brent and WTI have been down for five straight months.
OPEC’s announcement on Thursday dashed hopes of an output cut that could boost prices, with the cartel showing it was willing to withstand the lower prices in order to defend its market share. Market share has been under threat from growing production from countries outside OPEC, including shale-oil production from the U.S. and output from Latin American countries and from Russia. Oil prices have lost nearly 40% of their value since a peak in June, and OPEC’s decision to maintain its current production ceiling of 30 million barrels a day does little to remove the glut that has kept oil prices low. New York-traded oil is likely to stay around $65 a barrel for the next couple of months, said Darin Newsom, a senior commodity analyst with DTN.