Brent crude oil hits 2½-year high on Forties pipeline outage

Futures in New York were little changed, after rising 3 percent the previous two sessions. Libya’s crude loadings from the Mellitah terminal will be “modified” after protests impeded output at the El-Feel field. Cuts by OPEC and its allies may be phased out in 2019 in a way that won’t disturb the market, Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih said. Still, U.S. supply remains a threat, with the nation’s rig count rising for a fifth week to the highest since April 2015. Oil has risen more than 5 percent this year, following a second annual gain, as a drain in U.S. stockpiles and growing demand reassure investors that production cuts led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are working. While America continues to pump record volumes, accompanied by an increase in exports, Al-Falih said the global oil market is re-balancing and bloated inventories are shrinking. Click Read More below for additional information.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.634; Month Ago: $3.394; Year Ago: $3.621. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $4.057; Month Ago: $4.036; Year Ago: $4.206.

Tronox Limited announced that, in connection with its planned acquisition of the titanium dioxide (TiO2) business of Cristal, a privately held global chemical and mining company headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the waiting period in the United States under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act expired at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 1, 2017 without further action by or communication from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Jeffry Quinn, Tronox's chief executive officer, stated: "Based on consultation with counsel, we believe that expiration of the waiting period means that we can proceed toward completion of the transaction once all closing conditions are met. However, we have not been informed that the Federal Trade Commission has formally concluded its investigation. The Commission could conceivably seek to enjoin the transaction at a later time, but we believe such action would be unprecedented and contrary to the rationale of the pre-merger notification system that is the framework of the U.S. regulatory process."