Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 10/15/21

Oil prices stabilized on Monday after one of the most bearish weeks in months, propped up by OPEC comments signaling the group and other producers may take further action to restore market balance in the long term. Oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico started returning to service after Hurricane Nate had forced the shutdown of more than 90 percent of crude output in the area. The prospective restarts kept price gains in check. “Oil is having trouble to find direction. Mixed signals keep investors busy changing their minds,” said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Oil prices slipped on Thursday as swelling U.S. crude inventories and record weekly U.S. production clashed with OPEC supply cuts and the potential for new U.S. sanctions against Iran. On Wednesday, a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a 6.2-million-barrel jump in U.S. crude inventories C-STK-T-EIA. U.S. oil production rose to a record of 10.62 million bpd, putting it ahead of Saudi Arabia, the biggest OPEC producer. U.S. drilling for new production is also increasing, encouraged by rising prices following OPEC’s production curbs. Click Read More below for additional information.

Futures fell 0.3 percent in New York after Friday’s 0.5 percent gain. Libya’s biggest oil field cut output by more than 30 percent, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday, while the head of a union said loadings at Zueitina ceased after employees demanded better working conditions. In the U.S., drillers added three crude rigs last week, according to Baker Hughes Inc. In Libya, the Sharara field’s output has dropped to 200,000 barrels a day, the person familiar said. “After months of boosting oil production, Libya currently seems to be experiencing output disruptions,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. Click Read More below for more of the story.