Oil Trades Little Changed on Signs OPEC to Maintain Production
Crude oil was little changed near $100 a barrel in New York after falling yesterday on speculation OPEC will keep output unchanged at the same time as U.S. inventories gain.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will make “no change” to quotas when it meets in Vienna after oil surged to a record on March 3, President Chakib Khelil said yesterday. A U.S. government report today may show that oil stockpiles rose for an eighth week as demand slowed. Copper, gold, zinc and aluminum dropped.
“There have been a lot of emotions in the trading of commodities and right now we have a temporary pause in oil,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “Prices have diverged from fundamentals. At no point in history have we seen oil prices steadily gaining while demand growth is steadily weakening.”
Crude oil for April delivery was at $99.71 a barrel, up 19 cents, or 0.2 percent, in New York Mercantile Exchange after- hours electronic trading at 2:36 p.m. Singapore time. The contract rose as much as 0.7 percent to $100.19 earlier today. Futures have jumped 66 percent in the past year.
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