Having traded above $46 on Friday, WTI Crude is back to a $43 handle as it appears Iran's price cut, as we detailed here, [13] sparked demand from China and India driving up Iran exports to 1 million barrels per day.
[14]
As Bloomberg reports, Iran is exporting 1m B/D of Crude Oil as China Leads Buyers
China buying 400k b/d, followed by India at 250k b/d, official Islamic Republic News Agency reports, citing Mohsen Ghamsari, dir. of intl affairs, National Iranian Oil Co.
S. Korea, Japan, Turkey also importing
On a side note, though not reflected in today's pricing, Bloomberg reports [15] that OPEC trimmed estimates for supplies from outside the group in 2016 as the slump in prices takes its toll on the U.S. shale-oil industry.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut 2016 estimates for non-OPEC output by 110,000 barrels a day, its Vienna-based secretariat said Monday in its monthly market report. Still, the group sees non-OPEC supply expanding slightly next year, while the International Energy Agency on Friday predicted a contraction of 500,000 barrels a day, the biggest since 1992. Saudi Arabia told OPEC it curbed output in August to a six-month low.
“There are signs that U.S. production has started to respond to reduced investment and activity,” OPEC said in the report. “Indeed, all eyes are on how quickly U.S. production falls.”
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The fight between Saudi budgets and Fed cheap money continues... though the latter seems to be losing for now as defaults re-emerge and spreads re-peak.
