OIL ADVANCE AS SAUDI ARABIA REITERATES MARKET STABILITY PLEDGE

Oil gained amid a reiteration by Saudi Arabia that the world’s biggest exporter is committed to working with OPEC members and other producers to stabilize the crude market.

Futures rose as much as 1.2 percent in New York. Saudi Arabia strives to “cooperate with all oil producers and exporters, from inside and outside of OPEC, to preserve the stability of the market and prices,” the nation’s cabinet said in a statement Monday. U.S. crude stockpiles probably rose for a ninth week through Nov. 20, according to a Bloomberg survey before Energy Information Administration data Wednesday.

Oil has slumped about 44 percent the past year amid signs a global glut will be prolonged as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to pump above its collective quota. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said there isn’t a strong intention from some part of OPEC to stabilize the market. The 12-member group meets Dec. 4 to discuss its production target.

“The market will probably fluctuate on any bit of news leading into the OPEC meeting,” Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney, said by phone. “Volatility is going to continue.”

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery climbed as much as 49 cents to $42.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $42.22 at 3:09 p.m. Hong Kong time. The contract slid 15 cents to $41.75 on Monday. The volume of all futures traded was about 20 percent below the 100-day average.

OPEC Output

Brent for January settlement rose as much as 45 cents, or 1 percent, to $45.28 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $3.04 to WTI.

OPEC has pumped above its collective target of 30 million barrels a day for the past 17 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The group, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s crude, will likely maintain its policy of defending market share at the meeting in Vienna, according to all 30 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Saudi Arabia is a reliable supplier and the nation cooperates with OPEC and countries outside of the group to stabilize the market, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week. The kingdom is OPEC’s biggest producer.

U.S. crude stockpiles probably expanded by 1 million barrels last week, the survey showed before the EIA report. That will be the longest run of gains since April and keep supplies more than 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average.

source: Bloomberg