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☆ Oil prices steady as strong China data offsets US rate worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

2 oil consumer China offset concerns that possible increases in U.S. interest rates could dampen growth in the top consuming country. China's economy grew by a faster-than-expected 4.5% in the first quarter while oil refinery throughput rose to record levels in March, data showed. The dollar eased on Tuesday after the upbeat China data. Most traders, however, believe that the recent crude price rally is in need of a correction, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. Crude prices posted gains for the last four weeks, a streak not seen since June 2022.

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies U.S. dollar, interest rate concerns pressure oilG7 coalition to keep Russian oil price cap at $60/bbl -sourceBaghdad, KRG take step toward resuming Iraq oil exportsChina's Q1 GDP data expected to support oil pricesSINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices turned lower on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened and as investors mulled over a possible May interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could dampen economic recovery hopes. The U.S. dollar has been strengthening alongside interest rate hikes, making dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. "The dollar is a little bit stronger, and that seems to be putting a little bit of pressure on oil here," Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said. In Saudi Arabia, crude oil exports in February fell to 7.455 million bpd from 7.658 million bpd in January, official data showed on Monday.

☆ Four Turkish troops wounded in attacks in Syria, Ankara says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, April 16 (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were wounded in artillery and rocket attacks by Kurdish militants on bases in northern Syria, prompting a counter attack, Ankara said on Sunday. Turkey's defence ministry said the attacks were carried out by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and also the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey and Western nations deem a terrorist group. Turkey has carried out several cross-border military incursions into northern Syria in recent years and has dozens of bases there. "Ample response is given to the terrorists with strong attacks on targets," it added. Earlier on Sunday Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said "we could never be safe while there is an armed terrorist organisation" in the north of Syria and Iraq.

Companies Baker Hughes Co FollowApril 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices were roughly unchanged on Monday as investors weighed the prospect of tighter supplies from OPEC+ producers from May against concerns about weakening global growth that may dampen fuel demand. The group known as OPEC+ will be cutting mostly sour crude supplies from Middle East producers led by Saudi Arabia. Following the announcement, the world's top oil exporter raised its May crude prices to term customers in Asia and the United States. Separately, investors are watching the progress of talks between Iraq and Kurdistan to restart northern oil exports which could bring more sour crude to the global market. Sharp rate hikes have boosted the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil more expensive for investors holding other currencies.

☆ Oil steady as investors weigh tighter supply vs. growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Florence Tan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Baker Hughes Co FollowSINGAPORE, April 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices were roughly unchanged on Monday as investors weighed the prospect of tighter supplies from OPEC+ producers from May against concerns about weakening global growth that may dampen fuel demand. The group known as OPEC+ will be cutting mostly sour crude supplies from Middle East producers led by Saudi Arabia. Following the announcement, the world's top oil exporter raised its May crude prices to term customers in Asia and the United States. Separately, investors are watching the progress of talks between Iraq and Kurdistan to restart northern oil exports which could bring more sour crude to the global market. Sharp rate hikes have boosted the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil more expensive for investors holding other currencies.

☆ Oil edges higher on prospect of tighter supplies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Florence Tan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Baker Hughes Co FollowSINGAPORE, April 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices nudged higher in early Asian trade on Monday, supported by the prospect of tighter supplies from OPEC+ producers from May, but concerns about the global economic outlook capped gains. The group known as OPEC+ will be cutting mostly sour crude supplies from Middle East producers. Following the announcement, top exporter Saudi Arabia raised its May crude prices to term customers in Asia and the United States. Separately, investors are watching the progress of talks between Iraq and Kurdistan to restart northern oil exports which could bring more sour crude to the global market. Sharp rate hikes have boosted the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil more expensive for investors holding other currencies.

☆ Oil steady as investors weigh tighter supply versus growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices were roughly unchanged on Monday as investors weighed the prospect of tighter supplies from OPEC+ producers from May against concerns about weakening global growth that may dampen fuel demand. The group known as OPEC+ will be cutting mostly sour crude supplies from Middle East producers led by Saudi Arabia. Following the announcement, the world's top oil exporter raised its May crude prices to term customers in Asia and the United States. Separately, investors are watching the progress of talks between Iraq and Kurdistan to restart northern oil exports which could bring more sour crude to the global market. Sharp rate hikes have boosted the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil more expensive for investors holding other currencies.

☆ Iraq calls on Turkey to apologize for attack on Sulaymaniyah airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Erbil, April 8 (Reuters) - Iraq called on Turkey on Saturday to apologize for what it said was an attack on Sulaymaniyah airport in Iraq's north, saying the Turkish government must cease hostilities on Iraqi soil. A Turkish defence ministry official told Reuters that no Turkish Armed Forces operation took place in that region on Friday. Turkey has conducted several large-scale military operations including air strikes over the decades in northern Iraq and northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, Islamic State and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Claims of an attack came days after Turkey closed its airspace to aircraft travelling to and from Sulaymaniyah due to what it said was intensified activity there by PKK militants. The outlawed PKK, which has led an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Iraq, OPEC's second largest oil producer, exports the bulk of its oil through its southern Gulf port of Basra. An Iraqi oil ministry official with knowledge of the meeting said the aim was to reassure the companies that their deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) were secure. Baghdad and the KRG signed a temporary agreement on Tuesday to restart northern oil exports as part of efforts to end decades of political and economic disputes. Petraco confirmed its presence at talks in Baghdad and said it was currently awaiting further developments. Further complicating the picture, Kurdistan has borrowed billions of dollars from trading houses and oil producers, including to build a new pipeline to Turkey, pledging to repay debts from future oil exports.

☆ Iraq, Kurds Reach Temporary Deal to Unblock Oil Flows After Dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Benoit Faucon | Ghassan Adnan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The facilities of an oil company in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. BAGHDAD—The central Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities struck a deal Tuesday to end a standoff over oil sales that had blocked nearly 500,000 barrels a day in exports and sent crude prices rising. Kurdish authorities said the deal would allow oil exports to begin flowing again through a pipeline from Iraqi Kurdistan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, where crude often makes its way to Europe. Oil companies that had shut off production in recent days said they were planning to immediately restart operations.

☆ Up to 1 mln people 'disappeared' in Iraq in last half century - UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, April 4 (Reuters) - Up to 1 million people have been "disappeared" in Iraq during a tumultuous last half century spanning the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein, U.S.-led military occupation and the rise of Islamic State militants, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq, which has one of the highest numbers of missing people in the world, to seek victims and punish perpetrators. But that was hampered by the lack of definition of enforced disappearance as a crime in Iraqi law, its report said. "The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq to immediately establish the basis to prevent, eradicate and repair this heinous crime," it said. Up to 290,000 people, including some 100,000 Kurds, were forcibly disappeared by Hussein's "genocidal campaign" in Kurdistan between 1968 and 2003, the U.N. report said.

☆ Iraq to ask Turkey to restart northern oil exports after initial KRG deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have reached an initial agreement to restart northern oil exports this week, a KRG spokesman said on Sunday, and Baghdad will write to Turkey to request a resumption in pipeline flows. Baghdad had argued that Turkey had violated a joint agreement by allowing the KRG to export oil to Ceyhan without its consent. The resumption of pipeline flows from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will still need approval from Turkey. "A letter of request to resume oil flows will be sent by Baghdad to Ankara," a KRG official told Reuters on Sunday. Sources last week told Reuters that Turkey wants an unfinished court case settled with Iraq before the pipeline reopens.

Baghdad had argued that Turkey had violated a joint agreement by allowing the KRG to export oil to Ceyhan without its consent. Iraq's oil ministry in Baghdad said on Sunday it hopes to reach a final agreement soon with the KRG on resuming northern oil exports. Iraq's oil ministry said that details on the new export agreement would be announced "in due course". The resumption of pipeline flows from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will still need approval from Turkey. "A letter of request to resume oil flows will be sent by Baghdad to Ankara," a KRG official told Reuters on Sunday.

LONDON/BAGHDAD, April 1 (Reuters) - Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are close to striking a deal aimed at resuming northern oil exports, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Saturday. Revenues will be deposited in an account managed by the MNR and supervised by Baghdad, the KRG official said. Iraq's oil ministry spokesman could not immediately be reached outside regular business hours. Baghdad and the KRG have agreed to continue meetings following the resumption of oil exports to find solutions to other lingering problems. "[These include] the contracts of the foreign companies operating in Kurdistan and the Kurdish debts," the senior Iraqi oil official said.

☆ Oil settles 1% higher on tightening supplies, cooling US inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The most actively traded Brent futures, for June delivery, settled up $1.29, or 1.6%, at $79.89 a barrel. Brent futures for May delivery, which expired upon settlement, gained 50 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $79.77 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for May delivery settled higher by $1.30, or 1.8%, at $75.67 a barrel, gaining about 9% for the week. Signs that inflation is slowing tend to support oil prices as this could point to less aggressive interest rate hikes from the Fed, lifting investor demand for risk assets like commodities and equities. Brent settled lower for the third quarter in a row, the first time that has happened since 2015.

☆ Oil ticks up as US inflation cools, but set to end March lower
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Brent futures , which have risen nearly 6% this week, were up 26 cents, or 0.3% at $79.53 a barrel by 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT). West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 37 cents, or 0.5% to $74.74, having gained about 8% so far this week. If those levels hold, oil prices will record their second straight week of gains, but Brent and WTI were also set for losses of about 5% and 3%, respectively. Oil prices were also buoyed after producers shut in or reduced output at several oilfields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq following a halt to the northern export pipeline. OPEC pumped 28.90 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, a Reuters survey found, down 70,000 bpd from February.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Oil prices ticked up on Friday with U.S. inflation data showing some signs of slowing price rises, but on the month oil was on course for its weakest performance since November. Oil prices have broadly recouped these losses as worries about a global banking crisis have abated after banks in the U.S. and Europe were rescued. While the inflation data showed signs of cooling, it remained elevated, which could lead to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates one more time this year. Oil prices were buoyed after producers shut in or reduced output at several oilfields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq following a halt to the northern export pipeline. Also sending a bullish signal was data showing U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell to a two-year low.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Friday, with benchmarks heading for their weakest monthly performances since November, ahead of key U.S. inflation data which could give clues on future interest rate moves and the strength of the dollar. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.93, having gained about 7% so far this week. Markets are now waiting for U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation figures, tracked closely by the Federal Reserve, which are due at 1230 GMT. Also sending a bullish signal was data showing U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell to a two-year low. With oil prices recovering from recent lows, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia are likely to stick to their existing deal to cut oil output at a meeting on Monday, sources said.

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - Oil prices ticked down in Asian trade on Friday as bullish sentiment about Chinese demand and potential Middle Eastern supply disruptions was tempered by uncertainty over U.S. economic data to be released later in the day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 22 cents, or -0.3%, to $74.15, having gained about 8% this week. Markets are now waiting for U.S. spending and inflation data on Friday and the resulting impact on the U.S. dollar. "Disappointing data may cause concerns about Fed policy again and cap the recent gains," she added. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly in the week to March 24 to a two-year low.

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - Oil prices were very slightly down in Asian morning trade on Friday as bullish sentiment about Chinese demand and potential Middle Eastern supply disruptions was tempered by uncertainty over U.S. economic data on Friday. Markets are now waiting for U.S. spending and inflation data on Friday and the resulting impact on the U.S. dollar. Industrial activity in China has become a key determinant of prices in recent weeks after its ending of coronavirus-related restrictions, amid weaker global demand. Oil prices are set to cap a second straight week of gains after the largest bank failure after the 2008 financial crisis spooked traders and roiled markets. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly in the week to March 24 to a two-year low.

SINGAPORE, March 31 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed in early Asian trade on Friday as sentiment was boosted by an expansion in factory activity in China, the world's second largest crude consumer, and as concerns grew about Middle Eastern supply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 17 cents, or 0.23%, to $74.54, having gained about 8% this week. China's manufacturing activity rose in March at a slower pace compared with a record breaking expansion in February, but still exceeded expectations by economists in a Reuters poll. Industrial activity in China has become a key determinant of prices in recent weeks following its ending of coronavirus-related restrictions, amid weaker global demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly in the week to March 24 to a two-year low.

☆ Stocks rise and dollar falls while oil rallies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Sinéad Carew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2023. Economists polled by Reuters expect core prices rose by 0.4% in February and posted an annual increase of 4.7%. The U.S. dollar slipped to a one-week low against the euro as German inflation data helped lift the common currency. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) closed up 0.72% while emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) rose 0.67%. Gold prices gained with a weaker dollar and lower bond yields driving demand for the precious metal, while investors waited for U.S. inflation data to gauge the Fed's next move.

REUTERS/Umit BektasMarch 31 (Reuters) - An international arbitration ruling on March 23 prompted the shutdown of Iraq's northern crude oil exports through Turkey and sent oil prices back towards $80 a barrel. Iraq's federal government says its state-owned marketed SOMO is the only party authorised to manage crude exports through Ceyhan. Turkey was also asked to pay 50% of the discount at which KRG oil was sold, three sources said. According to a Turkish source, Iraq's initial demand was for about $33 billion. This comprised 370,000 bpd of KRG crude and 75,000 bpd of federal crude, a source familiar with pipeline operations said.

☆ OPEC oil output falls on Angola, Iraq outages - Reuters survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has pumped 28.90 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, the survey found, down 70,000 bpd from February. OPEC+ lowered its output target by 2 million bpd, of which about 1.27 million bpd was to come from the 10 participating OPEC countries. With the declines in Angola and Iraq this month, compliance with the agreement increased to 173% of pledged cuts, according to the survey, against 169% in February. ANGOLA, IRAQThe largest drop of 100,000 bpd was in Angola due to a small export programme and field maintenance on the Dalia stream. Among countries with higher output, Nigerian production again posted OPEC's biggest increase in March, the survey found, bringing the country closer to a target to lift output to 1.6 million bpd this quarter.

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