Oil edges up after six straight sessions of losses - Sean Seshadri

Oil prices recovered some ground on Tuesday, halting six consecutive sessions of slide, but markets remain under pressure as traders lose confidence that pledged output cuts by major producers will rein in oversupply in a world awash with fuel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures (CLc1) had added 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, by 0640 GMT (2:40 a.m. ET), but remained below the $50 mark pierced late last week, at $49.37 a barrel.

Brent crude (LCOc1) rose 14 cents, or 0.27 percent, to $51.74 per barrel.

Traders said the gains were a counter-reaction to consecutive price drops in the previous six sessions.

Despite Tuesdays increases, market sentiment has turned bearish, with Brent down 10 percent since late 2016 despite efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017 in order to tighten the market.

Given that oil supplies remain at record highs despite the cuts, Stephen Schork of the Schork report said on Tuesday that "OPEC has failed miserably in its endeavor to balance the oil market".

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) said in its latest weekly market note to clients that "it is evident that... crude markets are still struggling to clear (oversupply)."

The bank said that it was closing its "August Brent long position at a loss."

Indicating its cautious outlook, JPMorgan said that "crude markets are close to floating storage economics and (this) is a bearish sign for output price developments."

Floating storage is a clear indicator of oversupplied markets. It is pursued when oil for immediate delivery is so much cheaper than that for future dispatch that it becomes profitable for traders to charter tankers to store it for later.

JPMorgan said that in order to reduce the ongoing supply overhang, OPEC "will be forced to renew, and possibly deepen the agreement if they wish to keep prices much above $50 per barrel."

Russia said on Monday that its oil output could climb to the highest rate in 30 years if OPEC and non-OPEC producers do not extend a supply reduction deal beyond June 30.

Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows that Russian oil shipments, which exclude its pipeline exports, have already reached record highs of 5 million bpd in April, up 17 percent since December, before the cuts were officially implemented.

While producers may hurt under the renewed slack in crude markets, consumers like refiners benefit as their production margins making fuels such as gasoline improve .

Oil prices fall on expected surge in U.S. shale output - Sean Seshadri

Oil prices fell on Tuesday on news that U.S. shale oil output was expected to post the biggest monthly rise in more than two years, fuelling concerns that U.S. production growth is undermining OPEC-led efforts to rein in oversupply.

The latest U.S. government drilling data showed shale production in May was set to rise to 5.19 million barrels per day (bpd), with output from the Permian play, the largest U.S. shale region, expected to reach a record 2.36 million bpd.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures were down 26 cents at $55.10 a barrel at 0803 GMT. They touched an intraday low of $54.98, the weakest level in 11 days.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded down 21 cents at $52.44 a barrel, the lowest since April 10.

"EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) estimates for a combined 124,000 barrels-per-day growth in U.S. shale production over May have added another bearish element to the market," wrote analysts at JBC Energy, based in Vienna.

More barrels could be on their way to market from U.S. shale fields as financial companies are investing billions in production, a Reuters analysis showed.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are cutting oil production by 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1 for six months, the first reduction in eight years.

The energy minister of OPEC member the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday he saw healthy oil demand growth this year and believed inventories would fall.

A preliminary Reuters poll showed analysts expected U.S. crude stocks to have fallen in the week to April 14, building on a surprise decline the previous week. [EIA/S]

Analysts said they expected crude oil inventories to have fallen by around 1.5 million barrels last week.

Inventory data is scheduled for release by the American Petroleum Institute at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday, followed by the official EIA report at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.

U.S. natural gas bounces off 3-week low - Sean Seshadri

U.S. natural gas futures were higher on Tuesday, bouncing off the lowest level in three weeks as traders monitored shifting weather forecasts to assess the outlook for early-spring demand and supply levels.

U.S. natural gas for May delivery tacked on 1.5 cents, or around 0.5%, to $3.178 per million British thermal units by 10:05AM ET (14:05GMT). It fell to $3.114 earlier, the cheapest since March 29.

Prices of the heating fuel slumped 6.4 cents on Monday.

Weather patterns are expected to be rather bearish through the first half of the week due to mostly mild temperatures dominating much of the country beside the far northern U.S., according to forecasters at NatGasWeather.com.

However, a colder weather system will track over the southern and eastern U.S. later in the week through early next week to bring an increase in demand to stronger levels.

Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts on early-spring demand.

The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.

Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for heating.

Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to weekly storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a build in a range between 40 and 50 billion cubic feet in the week ended April 14.

That compares with a gain of 10 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, a gain of 7 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 35 billion cubic feet.

Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.061 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 20.2% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 12.8% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Gold prices quoted sharply higher into Asia on risk, Trump views - Sean Seshadi

Gold prices were quoted sharply higher heading into the Asian trading day on Thursday on geopolitical risk sentiment and President Donald Trump's remarks on the dollar and interest rates.

Gold for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were last quoted up 1.11% to $1,288.35 a troy ounce. Silver futures were cited up 1.35% at $18,501 a troy ounce and copper down 2.61% to $2.540 a pound.

Overnight, gold prices traded higher on Wednesday, but eased from a five-month high, despite increased demand for safe-haven gold amid heightened geopolitical jitters.

Risk-off sentiment has boosted to demand for traditional safe-haven assets including gold, as investors sought refuge from the recent market volatility amid increased geopolitical concerns.

U.S. – Russia relations remained in the political spotlight, as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was expected in Moscow on Wednesday to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and discuss a number of sensitive topics including the Korean peninsula, Syria and bilateral relations.

The meeting between Tillerson and Lavrov, came fresh off the heels of comments from Russia President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after he said trust had eroded between the United States and Russia.

Despite, an uptick in demand for the yellow metal, market participants expected gold prices to pull back from its current highs, on the back of a more hawkish Federal Reserve and a rise in the dollar.

Geopolitical tension on the Korean Peninsula also provided support. A call on Wednesday between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump called for a peaceful resolution of concerns with North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, that he thinks the currency (dollar) is getting too strong and hinted that he may reappoint Janet Yellen to chair the Federal Reserve Board when her term ends in 2018, as he added "I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you,”

It wasn’t the first time Trump expressed concern over the strength of the dollar, after he previously warned in January, that a soaring greenback has disadvantages for U.S. companies that do a lot of business abroad.

Crude down in Asia after China says oil imports rose 15% in Q1 - Sean Seshadi

Crude prices fell in Asia on Thursday after trade data from China showed a solid gain in first quarter crude imports as investors focused on global demand and supply and shrugged off a drop in U.S. inventories.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for May delivery was last quoted down 0.09% to $53.06 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent eased 0.09% to $55.81 a barrel.

On Thursday, China reports trade data for March that will provide some detail on oil flows in-and-out of the country. Exports are seen up by 3.2% year-on-year in March with imports expected to surge 18% for a trade balance surplus of $10 billion.

China's imports soared by 31.1% in yuan terms, customs data showed on Thursday, with exports up 14.8% for the first quarter from a year ago. China reported a trade surplus of CNY454.94 billion in the period. Customs is expected to release dollar-denominated trade data later on Thursday.

China's crude oil imports rose 15% in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier to 105 million metric tons, or 8.52 million barrels per day, the country's General Administration of Customs said on Thursday. Imports of refined products edged down 0.6% in the first quarter from a year ago to 7.68 million tonnes.

Later, the Paris-based International Energy Agency will release its own estimates of crude supply and demand in March.

Overnight, crude futures settled lower on Wednesday, after the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles from record highs while production increased.

Oil prices spiked to the upside, after the headline U.S. crude inventories number revealed an unexpected draw but gains were short lived, as investors shifted focus to the uptick in Cushing crude storage, which rose 276,00 barrels in the week.

For the week ending April 5, The EIA said that crude oil inventories fell by 2.166 million barrels compared to estimates of an increase of 87,000 barrels. Compliance with the global deal to drain the glut in supply, averaged 104% according to production figures published by OPEC.

In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to combat the oversupply issue that has pressured prices over the last two years.

Crude holds weaker in Asia despite China Q1 crude import gains - Sean Seshadri

Crude prices held weaker in Asia on Thursday even after trade data from China showed a solid gain in first quarter crude imports as investors focused on global demand and supply and shrugged off a drop in U.S. inventories.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for May delivery fell 0.19% to $53.01 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent eased 0.18% to $55.76 a barrel.

China's imports soared by 31.1% in yuan terms, customs data showed on Thursday, with exports up 14.8% for the first quarter from a year ago. China reported a trade surplus of CNY454.94 billion in the period. Customs is expected to release dollar-denominated trade data later on Thursday.

In dollar terms, exports rose 16.4 % year-on-year in March with imports soaring 20.3%, both beating expectations, for a trade balance surplus of $23.9 billion, more than double the expected figure.

China's crude oil imports rose 15% in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier to 105 million metric tons, or 8.52 million barrels per day, the country's General Administration of Customs said on Thursday. Imports of refined products edged down 0.6% in the first quarter from a year ago to 7.68 million tonnes.

Later, the Paris-based International Energy Agency will release its own estimates of crude supply and demand in March.

Overnight, crude futures settled lower on Wednesday, after the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles from record highs while production increased.

Oil prices spiked to the upside, after the headline U.S. crude inventories number revealed an unexpected draw but gains were short lived, as investors shifted focus to the uptick in Cushing crude storage, which rose 276,00 barrels in the week.

For the week ending April 5, The EIA said that crude oil inventories fell by 2.166 million barrels compared to estimates of an increase of 87,000 barrels.

Compliance with the global deal to drain the glut in supply, averaged 104% according to production figures published by OPEC.

In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to combat the oversupply issue that has pressured prices over the last two years.

Crude in Asia at 5-week highs on risk views, API estimates ahead - Sean Seshadri

Crude prices rose to five-week highs in Asia on Tuesday with industry data on U.S. inventories later in the day expected to underpin market views on demand and supply in the world's top importer.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for May delivery rose 0.17% to $53.17 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 0.21% to $56.10 a barrel.

Later Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will report estimates of inventories for crude and refined products at the end of last week, followed by official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. The two sets of figures diverged sharply last week with API showing a crude draw and EIA a build.

Analysts expect a 316,000 barrels build in crude supplies, and a drop in gasoline stocks of 1.761 million barrels and a decline in distillate supplies of 896,000 barrels.

Overnight, crude settled higher on Monday, after production halted at Libya’s largest oilfield for the second time in as many weeks while rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East lifted sentiment.

Libya's Sharara oilfield was shut on Sunday, after a group blocked a pipeline linking it to an oil terminal, a Libyan oil source said. Crude prices continued to trade with upside bias, after last week’s U.S. missile strike on an airbase in Syria, underpinned a rally in oil prices, as investors worried about potential supply disruptions in the region.

Although, Syria is no longer a significant oil producer, it neighbors and has relationships with big oil producers in the oil-rich region.

A rise in geopolitical tensions and potential supply disruptions overshadowed concerns that rising levels of global oil supply, particular in the U.S., would dampened OPEC’s effort to drain the glut in supply.

Meanwhile, Kuwait oil chief, Essam al-Marzouq, fuelled expectations that OPEC would reveal further cuts in March compared to previous months, after he said he expected producers’ level of compliance with the deal to cut global supply would “be higher than the previous couple of months”.

Essam al Marzouq’s bullish comments came amid renewed hopes that OPEC would extend its current deal to cut production beyond June, after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich expressed his concern on Friday, that the deal to cut supply hasn’t delivered as much as expected.

In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).