SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up on Wednesday following a report of tightening US fuel inventories amid an outage at Syncrude Canada oil sands facility in Alberta, which usually supplies the US.
Prices were also pushed up by looming US sanctions against Iran, which threaten to cut supplies to an already tight market despite pledges by producer cartel OPEC to raise output to make up for the disruptions.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $74.60 a barrel at 0343 GMT, compared with their last settlement. On Tuesday, WTI hit its highest since November 2014 at $75.27.
Brent crude futures were changing hands at $78.10 per barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.
Trading activity is expected to be limited on Wednesday by the US Independence Day holiday.
US crude inventories fell by 4.5 million barrels to 416.9 million barrels in the week to June 29, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday. Gasoline and distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, also fell, the API said.
“The draw in distillates was against expectations,” said Sukrit Vijayakar, managing director of energy consultancy Trifecta.
The decline in fuel inventories was largely down to the outage at Syncrude Canada’s 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil sands facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta. The outage is expected to last through July.
But brokerage Phillip Futures said the lower stocks come “as gasoline demand spikes on peak driving season in the northern hemisphere.”
Outside North America, looming US sanctions against major oil exporter Iran were the focus of attention.
The US government has demanded that all countries stop buying Iran’s oil from November.
To make up for potential shortfalls in supply from Iran and other disruptions including in Libya and Venezuela, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed with Russia and other oil-producing non-OPEC members to raise output from July.
OPEC-member Iran, however, has warned it would not accept other producers reaping the benefits by taking its market share.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday said it was “unwise to imagine that some day all producer countries will be able to export their surplus oil and Iran will not be able to export its oil.”
Oil prices edge up as US supply tightens, Iran sanctions loom
Oil prices edge up as US supply tightens, Iran sanctions loom
Closing Bell: Saudi main market edges up to 10,745 points
RIYADH: Saudi equities closed higher on Monday, with the Tadawul All Share Index finishing up 135.69 points, or 1.28 percent, at 10,745.45.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also advanced, rising 22.21 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 1,436.31, while the Nomu Parallel Market Index slipped 31.80 points, or 0.13 percent, to 23,586.94.
Market breadth was positive on the main market, with 216 gainers against 42 decliners, while Nomu saw 42 stocks advancing and 36 declining.
Trading activity picked up, with 261.7 million shares changing hands, while total turnover reached SR5.10 billion ($1.3 billion).
Among the top performers, Saudi Fisheries Co. led the gains, closing at SR63.90, up SR5.80, or 9.98 percent. Naseej International Trading Co. rose to SR34.94, gaining SR3.16, or 9.94 percent, while Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co. ended at SR16.74, up SR1.16, or 7.45 percent.
Zahrat Al Waha for Trading Co. added 6.84 percent to close at SR2.50, and Alamar Foods Co. climbed 5.75 percent to SR42.70.
On the losing side, Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co. fell 4.36 percent to SR23.90, while Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co. declined 2.82 percent to SR62.05.
United International Holding Co. slipped 2.36 percent to SR153.40, Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. dropped 2.09 percent to SR98.60, and United Electronics Co. eased 1.90 percent to SR85.00.
On the announcement front, Mouwasat Medical Services Co. announced that its board has approved the establishment of a new hospital in Riyadh’s Al-Narjis District, with a planned capacity of 280 beds and a total investment cost of SR900 million.
The project will be financed through a mix of self-funding and long-term Shariah-compliant bank facilities, with further details on timelines and financial impact to be disclosed at a later stage.
Shares of Mouwasat Medical Services Co. closed at SR67.95, gaining SR1.40, or 2.10 percent.
Saudi Arabian Mining Co. reported a net addition of 7.8 million ounces of new gold resources following extensive exploration and drilling activities across multiple sites, alongside the identification of new mineralization opportunities in gold and base metals.
The company noted that the financial impact of these discoveries has yet to be determined and will be assessed in due course.
Shares of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. closed at SR67.50, up SR3.05, or 4.73 percent.
