Oil prices settled under $37 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since 2009, after data from the Organization of the Petroleum Countries’ report showed that the group increased its crude production in November to its highest monthly level in three years.
Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, ended with a loss after a U.S. government report showed that supplies fell more than expected last week, but total stocks remained well above the year-ago level.
12/08/2015 02:00 AM to 02:30 AM EST●US:CLF6$37.73
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On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January West Texas Intermediate crudeCLF6, -0.30% shed 40 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $36.76 a barrel. That was the lowest settlement for a most-active contract since February 2009 and prices have now extended their losing streak to a fifth straight session.
January Brent crude LCOF6, -0.38% on London’s ICE Futures exchange slipped 38 cents, or 1%, to $39.73 a barrel.
OPEC’s monthly report revealed total production rose in November by 230,100 barrels a day from October, to 31.695 million barrels a day, largely due to higher output from Iraq.
But the cartel cut its 2016 estimates for non-OPEC output by 250,000 barrels a day to average 57.14 million barrels a day, noting that U.S. shale-oil production has been falling since April. OPEC said that process should speed up, notably due to the sharp fall in oil prices.
“While non-OPEC members may slow producing as a result of lower prices, the oil cartel continues an aggressive production pace in a market-share Battle Royale,” said John Macaluso, an analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors.
Macaluso expects WTI prices to test the 2008 low of $32.48 going into the year-end.
The OPEC report was the first since the cartel last week decided to essentially raise its production ceiling to 31.5 million barrels of oil a day, to reflect the “current actual production,” a move that sent oil prices tumbling.
On Thursday, January heating oil HOF6, -0.97% finished at $1.225 a gallon, down 1.4 cents, or 1.1%. January gasoline RBF6, +0.05% meanwhile, climbed 4.9 cents, or 3.9%, to $1.280 a gallon.
January natural gas NGF16, -0.99% on Nymex lost 4.7 cents, or 2.3%, to $2.015 per million British thermal units. The EIA Thursday said supplies of the commodity fell 76 billion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 4. That was less than expected, but still 514 billion cubic feet above the year-ago level.
