13 November 2015 – US crude fell for the third session in a row on Friday to trade at the lowest in more than two months, as a relentless climb in oil stockpiles helped trigger a 10 percent drop in prices since the beginning of November.
Benchmark US crude futures were at $41.47 a barrel early on Friday, down 28 cents from Thursday, when prices tumbled 4% on the back of rising US stocks. The contract was trading at the lowest since 27 August.
Internationally traded Brent crude futures were at $44 a barrel, down six cents.
“Crude prices dropped to the lowest level in more than two months after US oil stockpiles climbed for a seventh week,” ANZ bank said on Friday referring to official US data that saw crude inventories rise by 4.2 million barrels last week against a market expectation of a 1.3 million barrel gain.
ANZ also said that big price rebound this year was unlikely: “A year end recovery in commodity prices remains unlikely with a stronger US$ and EM (emerging market) growth concerns.”
Oil markets have been dogged by oversupply, which analysts estimate to be between 700,000 and 2.5 million barrels of oil being produced everyday without a buyer, and which has resulted in prices falling by almost two-thirds since June 2014.
*Reuters