Crude Oil Higher; Infrastructure Bill Points to Higher Growth By

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse   

-- Oil prices climbed Monday,fxsol Forex official website download supported by the decision of Saudi Aramco (SE:2222) late Friday to raise the official selling price for its crude as well as the passage of the U.S. infrastructure bill.

By 9:30 AM ET (1430 GMT), U.S. crude futures were up 0.3% at $81.47 a barrel, after falling almost 3% last week, while Brent futures rose 0.4% to $83.03, after dropping nearly 2% last week. 

U.S. Gasoline RBOB Futures were up 0.1% at $2.3220 a gallon.

Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant, raised late Friday its December official selling price to Asia for its Arab light crude to $2.70 a barrel versus Oman/Dubai crude, up $1.40 from November.

“The price increments are much higher than market expectations and give a bullish signal on supply tightness,” said analysts at ING, in a note.

Adding to the positive tone Monday was the news that the U.S. House of Representatives had finally passed the much-anticipated $1 trillion infrastructure bill, paving the way for significant expenditure on the country’s transportation system. This could boost growth and thus demand for fuel.

The market has remained strong even following the news that China's crude oil imports plunged in October to the lowest since September 2018. The world's biggest crude oil importer brought in the equivalent to 8.9 million barrels per day, data showed Sunday, down from 9.99 million bpd in September and 10.02 million bpd in the same period last year.

“China’s oil imports could recover for the rest of the year, on fresh import quotas for private refineries, low domestic inventory and an increase in refinery operating rates to push up the supply of refined products,” said ING.

Attention will now switch to the U.S. energy market after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies chose not to increase its output more than the previously agreed plan to add 400,000 barrels per day in December, much to the disappointment of a number of consumers, including the U.S.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday that the administration was weighing its options to address high gasoline and heating prices, prompting speculation that they could release supply from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

 

 

Statement: The content of this article does not represent the views of FTI website. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment suggestions. Investment is risky, so you should be careful in your choice! If it involves content, copyright and other issues, please contact us and we will make adjustments at the first time!