Oil prices headed for a third straight monthly decline, falling on Friday (October 31st) due to a stronger US dollar, weak Chinese data, and rising supply from major global producers.
Brent crude futures fell 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $64.62 a barrel at 10:08 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $60.19 a barrel, down 38 cents, or 0.6%.
The U.S. dollar is nearing a three-month high against major currencies, making dollar-denominated commodities like oil more expensive.
Meanwhile, sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, may lower its December crude oil prices for Asian buyers to their lowest in months due to abundant supplies, sources said, indicating bearish sentiment.
Oil prices also fell after an official survey showed factory activity in China contracted for a seventh month in October. Both Brent and WTI are expected to fall by about 3.5% in October as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and major non-OPEC producers increase production to gain market share.
Higher supply would also cushion the impact of Western sanctions that have disrupted Russian oil exports to key buyers, China and India. OPEC+ is likely to increase production modestly in December, according to sources familiar with the negotiations ahead of the group's meeting on Sunday. Eight OPEC+ members have raised their production targets by more than 2.7 million barrels per day—or about 2.5% of global supply—through a series of monthly increases.
Meanwhile, crude oil exports from top exporter Saudi Arabia hit a six-month high of 6.407 million barrels per day, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative. The U.S. Energy Information Administration also reported record production of 13.6 million barrels per day last week.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China has agreed to begin purchasing US energy, adding that a very large-scale transaction involving the purchase of oil and gas from Alaska is possible. However, analysts remain skeptical about whether a US-China trade deal will increase Chinese demand for US energy. (alg)
Source: Reuters
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