Oil: an overview of the market situation

Oil prices declined moderately today , closer to $ 112 per barrel (Brent) and $ 108 (WTI), after the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia have agreed that it is worth the effort to end the civil war in Syria. Note that the settlement of the question for the elimination of chemical weapons just raised hopes for a more meaningful negotiations .

Expectations of an imminent U.S. attack on Syria helped overcome Brent crude above $ 117 at the end of August, as investors were concerned that the conflict may cause a decrease in the volume of production in the Middle East region , which holds about one third of the world 's oil reserves. But this tension eased somewhat over the past few days , as U.S. Secretary of State , John Kerry, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is trying to resolve the prevailing conflict in a peaceful way, namely to remove chemical weapons in Syria.

Although world oil markets remain under stress , and the amount of Libyan exports decreased more than 1 million barrels per day due to civil unrest and strikes, investors expect supply growth already in the next few months.

Meanwhile , we add that a partial influence on the bidding had U.S. data . As it became known, retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.2 % in August compared with the previous month , showing a smaller increase than the 0.5 % growth forecast of economists and the smallest increase since April.

Most of the increase was due to a surge in car sales, which tend to be unstable and to recover from the recession, while households have made a long-awaited purchase of new cars

Excluding autos, retail sales rose by only 0.1 %, which is a sign of weakness for the broader discretionary spending .

At the same time, the report contains some positive points : sales in July were stronger than previously thought , and showed an increase of 0.4 % compared to the initial 0.2 %.

Consumers account for over two-thirds of demand in the U.S. economy , and they have been the main driving force behind the recovery that remains weak by historical standards .

The cost of the October futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) fell to $ 107.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

October futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture rose $ 0.89 to $ 112.07 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.