NEW YORK – Oil was little changed on Tuesday, pressured by the threat to demand from rising coronavirus cases worldwide and increased Libyan output, though traders said talk of a U.S. stimulus package was supporting markets.
Source: Reuters
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 3 cents to $42.59 a barrel by 11:55 a.m. EDT (1555 GMT).
November U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 4 cents to $40.79. The more active December contract was also down 4 cents at $41.02.
Investors are following negotiations between U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over another U.S. coronavirus aid package, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.
“If we get a deal, I think that would be supportive, and if we don’t get a deal, I think that’s going to be somewhat punishing for prices,” Kilduff said.
However, those countries plan on scaling back the size of its production cuts in January from a current 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) to roughly 5.7 million bpd in January.
OPEC member Libya, which is exempt from the cuts, is also ramping up production after armed conflict shut almost all of the country’s output in January, pumping more oil into an oversupplied market.
Output from its biggest field, Sharara, resumed on Oct. 11 and is now at about 150,000 bpd, about half its capacity, two industry sources told Reuters.
Another 70,000 bpd oilfield is expected to restart on Oct. 24.
