Oil Rises Above $50 as Iraq Raises Prospect of More OPEC Action

West Texas Intermediate futures added 0.4 percent. Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said there’s support in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to deepen output curbs by about 1 percent. Still, Iraq has failed to deliver the supply cuts it committed to under the current agreement. U.S. refiners are delaying scheduled maintenance as they resume operations after Hurricane Harvey, supporting demand for crude.

Iraq’s suggestion “has a minor influence on prices — if it would have come from Saudi Arabia, it would probably have had a bigger impact,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich.

West Texas Intermediate for October delivery, which expires Wednesday, rose 19 cents to $50.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:28 a.m. in London. Total volume traded was in line with the 100-day average. Prices closed at $49.91 on Monday after settling unchanged on Friday.

Brent for November settlement added 5 cents to $55.53 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices fell 14 cents to $55.48 on Monday. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $5.05 to November WTI.

The largest U.S. refinery operated by Motiva Enterprises LLC in Texas is said to have pushed back work on a unit to April from September, while others churn out more fuel to take advantage of strong margins.
more at:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/oil-holds-near-50-as-refiners-delay-work-after-hurricane-Harvey