Oil Rises to 15-Month High on U.S. Supply Drop, OPEC Optimism

October 19, 2016 at 07:15 AM
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Oil rose to a 15-month high in New York after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories fell last week and Saudi Arabia's energy minister said many nations are willing to join OPEC output cuts.

Futures rose as much as 3.1 percent to the highest intraday level since July 2015. EIA reported a 5.25 million-barrel decline in nationwide crude supplies in the week ended October 14. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 2.1 million-barrel increase and the American Petroleum Institute was said to report Tuesday a 3.8 million-barrel drop.

OPEC can continue to stabilize the market and other nations have given "strong signals" they will cooperate, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said in London.

West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose $1.47 to $51.76 a barrel at 10:51 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for December settlement climbed $1.30 to $52.98 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange.

Oil has fluctuated near $50 a barrel amid uncertainty about whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will be able to implement an accord to reduce supply when they gather at an official meeting in November. An OPEC committee will meet later this month to try to resolve differences over how much individual members should pump. OPEC will start with an output freeze, or possibly a small cut, Al-Falih said.

"Any indication of a deal will add fuel to the bulls' fire," Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, said by phone. "I don't think it is going to last for a long time, but at the moment the trend is up."

Supplies in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex contracts, fell 1.64 million barrels, the EIA said.

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