US NEWS

Oil supermajor, ExxonMobil took a big sigh of relief on Tuesday when Judge Barry Ostrager acquitted the firm in the 4-year long New York Climate-Change securities fraud trial. The ruling for the $1.6 billion lawsuit read, “The Office of the Attorney General failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that ExxonMobil made any material misstatements or omissions about its practices and procedures that misled any reasonable investor,”.

Oil prices dipped in the international market on Wednesday, stressed by a surprise jump in the US stockpiles, while investors keep a close look at a new round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Brent crude futures LCOc1 slipped 0.7%, to $63.90 per barrel. US WTI crude futures CLc1 fell 0.6%, to $58.91 a barrel. An unexpected build of 1.4 million barrels pushed US crude stockpiles to 447 million barrels.

Halliburton is cutting jobs at its Bakersfield plant in California, as the US firm scuffles with sinking profits amid a global slowdown in oil and gas activity. In a filing with California authorities, Halliburton said that the layoff plan will have an immediate impact on 70 employees. The company recently laid off 800 employees in Oklahoma, apart from 650 employees across Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and North Dakota.

The international market was a bit quiet on Thursday ahead of the start of OPEC meetings later in the day. The oil prices went steady as the day progressed because of the substantial drop in the U.S. crude inventories. Brent decreased by 0.2% and was traded at $62.90 a barrel. WTI fell by 0.4% and was traded at $58.21 a barrel.

On Wednesday, oil prices buoyed ahead of the OPEC meeting. Larger than expected decline in US stockpiles also helped the market revive its growth. Brent went up by 0.6% and was traded at $61.17 a barrel. WTI increased by 0.6% and was traded at $56.41 a barrel. Amidst all the scepticism, the industry believes that OPEC with its allies might agree on deeper output cuts during the next meeting.

Oil prices held ground in the international market on Friday, amidst quiet trade during Thanksgiving holiday in the US. Benchmark Brent crude was priced at $63.82 a barrel. WTI crude futures CLc1 rose to $58.12 a barrel. Investors are keeping a close look on the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for the next week. The cartel has until now withheld output to boost the prices.

After US crude and gasoline stocks rose against expectations, oil prices declined on Thursday. Brent fell down by 0.3% and was traded at $63.88 a barrel. WTI decreased by 0.4% and was traded at $57.87 a barrel. According to the EIA, US stockpiles touched 1.6 million barrels last week as the production touched record heights.

Oil prices fell in the international market on Wednesday, stressed by an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories. Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 declined 0.3%, to $64.08 a barrel. WTI crude futures CLc1 slipped 0.29%, to $58.24 per barrel. API data released on Tuesday showed a rise of 3.6 million barrels in the week to Nov. 22 to 449.6 million.

The news of reducing bitterness between US and China brought the air of optimism in the market. On Monday, oil increased with the early gains in the market. WTI went up by 0.17%, at $57.87 a barrel. Brent went up by 0.11%, at $63.46 a barrel. “This is a big step forward for potential trade negotiation if they are adopted as official policy,” said strategist McCarthy at CMC Markets.

In a major setback to the oil and gas industry in California, the state disclosed new regulations for drillers in an attempt to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The newly announced measures also include a moratorium on the extraction technique, fracking which uses high-pressure steam to break up oil formations underground. The regulations received heavy applause from environmental groups.

Oil prices slipped in the international market on Thursday, stressed by a looming delay in the trade deal between the world’s two biggest economies. Brent crude futures dipped 0.4%, to $62.15 a barrel. US WTI crude futures were priced 0.4% lower, at $56.81 per barrel. China’s criticism of a U.S. Senate bill intended at defending human rights in Hong Kong has served as a new hurdle to the trade deal.

Oil prices held ground on Wednesday, as the hike in the US stockpiles strengthened concerns about dull economic growth globally. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.03%, to $60.93 a barrel. US WTI crude futures climbed 0.2%, at $55.32 a barrel. API data released on Tuesday showed a surge of 6 million barrels in the US stockpiles for the week to Nov. 15, putting the value to 445.9 million barrels.

The market is waiting for a fresh perspective on the US-China trade deal. Thus, keeping aside surplus supplies' worries, oil prices changed a little on Monday. Brent decreased by 0.1% and was traded at $63.25 a barrel. WTI was unchanged, at $57.72 a barrel. IEA has predicted that non-OPEC supply growth would be on a rise up to 2.3 million bpd next year. This will create a downward pressure on the prices.

Oil prices climbed up on the back of hopes from next OPEC meeting to curb the supply. A statement from White House mentioning that they are 'getting close' to the deal with Beijing also supported the market. WTI increased by 0.5% and was traded at $57.05 a barrel. Brent went up by 0.5% and was traded at $62.56 a barrel.

Oil prices increased on Thursday extending the gains from the previous session. The market was also largely affected by the industry report showing a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. WTI went up by 0.4% to $57.32 a barrel. Brent rose by 0.3% and was traded at $62.54 a barrel. US crude inventories have gone down by 541,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 8 to 440 million.

On Monday, oil prices fell on the back of doubts over the trade deal between the US and China. Concerns of the excess of supply also affected the market. Brent slipped by 0.9% and was traded at $61.96 a barrel. WTI went down by 0.8% and was traded at $56.77 a barrel. Further, oil cartel OPEC and its allies will meet in December to discuss their future decisions.

Oil prices remained unchanged on Thursday carrying the losses of the previous session. The interim deal between the US and China to boil down the ongoing war has been delayed. Brent was at $61.74 a barrel while WTI was at $56.32 a barrel. Further, the US crude exports have been hit hard last week which led to the drop of nearly 1 million barrels to 2.4 million barrels per day.

Oil prices slipped in the international market on Wednesday, as US inventory data revealed larger-than-expected build up in crude stockpiles. Benchmark Brent crude futures dropped 0.6%, to $62.60 a barrel. US WTI crude futures CLc1 slipped to 0.5%, to $56.94 per barrel. API data released yesterday showed a rise of 4.3 million barrels in the U.S. crude inventories last week.