Oil Retreats on Speculation Syria Intervention Will Be Limited

Futures slipped as much as 1.9 percent in New York. President Donald Trump declared “mission accomplished” a day after the U.S., France and the U.K. launched military strikes in response to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s suspected chemical attack on civilians. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson insisted that the hit was a one-time move. The number of rigs drilling for crude in the U.S. rose to a three-year high, signaling production may rise from record levels.

Oil last week rose to levels last seen in 2014 amid growing geopolitical risks, with investors anticipating that retaliation against Assad would threaten production in the region, while tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen also added to concerns. Still, surging U.S. output continues to weigh on investor sentiment even as the International Energy Agency says the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is close to reaching its target of eliminating a global crude glut.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., working oil rigs rose by seven last week to 815, the highest since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. The rig fleet has expanded in 10 of the past 12 weeks. The expansion came after the Energy Information Administration data showed that American oil production rose to a fresh record of 10.5 million barrels a day.
more at:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-16/oil-halts-gain-near-67-as-u-s-rig-rise-counters-mideast-clash