Oil Futures Jump After OPEC Cooperation Comment

Oil futures rebounded Thursday afternoon after The Wall Street Journal reported OPEC members might be ready to cooperate on a cut, citing UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) last traded down 2.26 percent, or 61 cents, at $26.84. It settled down $1.24, or 4.5 percent, at $26.21 a barrel, breaking a psychologically key level of $26.19, the lowest since May 8, 2003, when it hit $26.

Brent crude futures were down 17 cents at $30.67 per barrel, having traded between $30.01 and $31.14.

Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei also said low prices were already forcing non-OPEC members to cap production. U.S. stocks bounced sharply after the report.

Prior to the report, U.S. oil prices had fallen for a sixth straight day on Thursday, hitting the lowest since May 2003, weighed by brimming crude inventories and a Goldman Sachs forecast that prices would remain low and volatile until the second half of the year.

Market intelligence firm Genscape reported the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S, crude futures saw a build of almost 425,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 9.

Crude inventories in Cushing hit all-time highs just shy of 65 million barrels during the week ended Feb. 5, government data showed on Wednesday.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza