• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 5 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 17 hours Solving The Space Problem For America’s Solar Industry
  • 7 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 19 hours Russian Officials Voice Concerns About Chinese-Funded Rail Line
  • 3 days Investment in renewables tanking
  • 8 days If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 8 days "Mexico Plans to Become an Export Hub With US-Drilled Natural Gas" - Bloomberg - (See image)
Jim Hyerczyk

Jim Hyerczyk

Fundamental and technical analyst with 30 years experience.

More Info

Premium Content

High Volatility Christmas Trading Forces Crude Lower

Christmas and New Year’s Week usually feature low-volume, low-volatility moves in the energy complex, but this year may be different because of the bear market in crude oil and the weather market in natural gas. Furthermore, the price action in the energy sector is also being influenced by heightened volatility in the U.S. equity markets.

Crude Oil

According to Reuters, which reviewed a letter from OPEC’s secretary-general Mohammad Barkindo, “OPEC plans to release a table detailing output cut quotas for its members and allies such as Russia in an effort to shore up the price of crude.”

Barkindo went on to say that in order to reach the proposed cut of 1.2 million barrels per day, the effective reduction for member countries was 3.02 percent. This figure is higher than the initially discussed 2.5 percent as OPEC seeks to accommodate Iran, Libya and Venezuela, which are exempt from any requirement to cut.

This news fueled some light short-covering late in the week, but gains were capped and the markets fell to new lows for the year due to worries over the strength of the global economy heading into next year. Heightened stock market volatility and concerns over a government shutdown also weighed on prices.

Overall pressure,…





Leave a comment

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News