Oil Rises On Dollar & Market Balance Expectations

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by a weaker U.S. dollar and as several analysts said that global markets might not be as oversupplied as flagged by others ahead of a November meeting of OPEC producers that could decide to cut crude production.

The proposal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries made at the end of last month to cut or cap production has helped to lift crude prices above $50, but not much more because of market participants’ doubts over the cartel’s ability to strike and implement a concrete deal.

But several analysts have now said that a two-year global supply glut could be receding when oil inventories are taken into account. They say that stocks are not as high as usual ahead of the winter fuels season.

Brent crude LCOc1 rose 43 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $51.95 a barrel by 0830 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 49 cents, close to 1 percent, at $50.43.

Traders said a drop in the dollar away from seven-month highs the previous day .DXY supported crude. A lower dollar makes fuel purchases cheaper for countries using other currencies domestically.

Analysts at Bernstein Energy said that beyond estimating production and consumption, one way to gauge the supply and demand balance is to analyze fuel inventory changes.

“Global oil inventories (industry and government) increased by 17 million barrels to 5.618 billion barrels in 3Q16. This is the smallest build since 4Q14, confirming that inventory builds are slowing as the market comes back into balance,” it said.

Read More: reuters