Crude oil prices marched out of the gate for the first trading day in April on a muted tone, up only modestly on competing production trends.
Crude oil prices ended March in fashion, recovering from over-supply concerns that pushed the U.S. benchmark price back under $50 per barrel. Late-month signs of tightening eased some of the pressure, though oil prices still ended the month below early 2017 highs.
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are working with non-member states like Russia on an agreement to stem production in an effort to offset supply-side pressures. Last week, Libyan production was curbed by militant activity, though production at the country's largest oil field resumed during the weekend. Russian oil production, meanwhile, was down about 200,000 barrels per day from a late 2016 benchmark to around 11 million barrels per day for March.
"A bout of paralysis is taking hold across the energy complex as traders mull over a fall in Russian oil output and a resumption of operations at Libya's largest oilfield," a broker at PVM wrote in a daily newsletter.
Crude oil prices early Monday may be influenced by an explosion at a subway station in St. Petersburg, which Russian state media said left at least 10 people dead. State news agency Tass reported the explosion was triggered by a device inside a rail car.
The price for Brent crude oil was up 0.17 percent about a half hour before the start of trading in New York to $53.61 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was up 0.2 percent to $50.70 per barrel.
Support for crude oil prices came from a European economy showing some signs of improvement on the labor front. The seasonally-adjusted rate of unemployment for the 19 countries that use the euro currency was 9.5 percent in February, down slightly from January, but the lowest rate for the region since May 2009.
Elsewhere, industrial producer prices remained stable in the euro era, up from the onset of the global recession, but largely mirroring seasonal trends.
Fourth quarter revenue down for Norway
A snapshot of total revenue for Norway, one of Europe's lead oil and gas suppliers, revealed declines for the fourth quarter, the government reported.
Norway sends nearly all of the oil and natural gas produced offshore to the European market, making it one of the region's leading suppliers outside of Russia. The European economy last year grew at a slow pace while crude oil prices stru … read more
