Crude oil prices were lower Friday morning amid widespread concern that the market may be oversupplied, with yet another session where the impact of waivers announced Monday lingered.

As of 10:18 a.m. EST, WTI front-month crude prices traded at $59.71 per barrel, or a 1.6 percent decline, while Brent front-month crude oil futures traded at $69.63 per barrel, or down 1.4 percent.

"The rout continues for oil prices, which is on course for its longest losing streak on record (oil declining for 10 consecutive sessions) with WTI dropping below $60 and Brent cracking $70," DailyFX analyst Justin McQueen told UPI.

"Brent spreads have moved deeper into contango territory as investors fear a potentially over-supplied market. Much of this had stemmed from the Trump administration announcing oil waivers for 8 countries, which would allow for continued buying of Iranian crude," he added.

The United States on Monday announced waivers for several nations -- including big consumers China, India and South Korea -- so that they could continue to temporarily buy Iranian crude oil.

The nuclear program-related sanctions aimed at preventing Iran, a country that in April was producing 2.8 million barrels per day, to continue its exports. The sanctions were announced in May, leading to peak prices in early October as the market was contemplating the impact about the potential diminished supplies.

However, the Monday announcement, on the same day when the sanctions went into effect, threw the market off balance as any supply reduction concerns shifted into fear of oversupply.

"This also came at a time where the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia had been boosting oil to record levels," McQueen added. Announcements of production increases by Saudi Arabia and other countries to cover anticipated disruptions had led to a crude oil future selloff during most of October.

There is expectation now that major producers from both OPEC and non-OPEC countries will announce production cuts as soon as this weekend during an Abu Dhabi meeting, he added.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US court halts construction of Keystone XL oil pipeline
Washington (AFP) Nov 9, 2018
A federal judge on Thursday halted construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, arguing that President Donald Trump's administration had failed to adequately explain why it had lifted a ban on the project. The ruling by Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court for the District of Montana dealt a stinging setback to Trump and the oil industry and served up a big win for conservationists and indigenous groups. Trump granted a permit for the $8 billion conduit meant to stretch from Canada to Te ... read more