Oil Steady Near $52 as Saudi Prince Backs Longer OPEC Cuts

Futures were little changed in New York after falling 0.6 percent on Wednesday. Prince Mohammed said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Riyadh that “of course” he wanted to extend OPEC’s production cuts in 2018, making it all but certain the group and its allies will roll over the curbs at a meeting next month.

Oil is holding gains above $50 a barrel as speculation mounts that supply curbs by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia will be prolonged when they meet in Vienna on Nov. 30. In Iraq, the state oil company is working with a Kurdish firm to resume pumping at two disputed fields after government troops recaptured them from Kurdish forces.

“There seems to be consensus of prolonging the OPEC deal through 2018,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery was at $52.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 3 cents, at 12:40 p.m. London time. Total volume traded was about 45 percent below the 100-day average. Prices lost 29 cents to $52.18 on Wednesday.

Brent for December settlement fell 12 cents to $58.32 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, after gaining 11 cents on Wednesday. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $6.12 to WTI.
more detail at:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-25/oil-holds-losses-near-52-on-surprise-u-s-crude-stockpiles-gain