Brent Tops $72 as China Easing Boosts Oil Demand Outlook
Oil climbed as China’s leaders used their most direct language on stimulus...
Oil climbed as China’s leaders used their most direct language on stimulus in years, while traders are also keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East.
West Texas Intermediate gained 1.7% to settle above $68 a barrel. Brent topped $72 a barrel. China’s leaders vowed to embrace a “moderately loose” monetary policy in 2025, signaling more rate cuts ahead and shifting from a “prudent” strategy that’s held for 14 years. Easing monetary policy in China lifted oil’s demand outlook, but traders remain measured about potential upside.
Monday’s gain isn’t enough to take oil out of the roughly $6-a-barrel range it has traded in since mid-October. The market has been buffeted by competing drivers, including Donald Trump’s US election win, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and lackluster Chinese demand — with a significant global surplus expected next year.
Saudi Arabia cut oil prices for buyers in Asia over the weekend, underscoring the market’s weakening outlook following the OPEC+ decision to delay the revival of halted production.
The U.S. national average price of gasoline has fallen below $3 per gallon for the first time in more than three and a half years. According to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country, the average national gasoline price was $2.97 per gallon on Monday, a level they last touched in 2021. De Haan has noted that some 35 U.S. states now enjoy average gas prices below $3 per gallon, an increase of seven states from a month ago.
“The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn’t come at a better time for motorists with the holidays upon us. One would need to count over 1,300 days since we’ve seen the national average this low, with the affordability of gasoline at its lowest non-COVID level since 2015,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
U.S. stocks end lower after S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit records last week
U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended last...
U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended last week at records and as investors await consumer-price index data to be released on Wednesday — which may be the last wild card that could upset expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut in December.
According to preliminary closing data from FactSet, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.5%.
College football’s first 12-team playoff field was unveiled
And of course, not everybody was happy when they saw the ...
And of course, not everybody was happy when they saw the bracket. The committee awarded the final spot to SMU, who finished the season at 11-2 following a close loss to Clemson in the ACC title game. Alabama was the first team out after posting a 9-3 record against a more difficult schedule than SMU. Top four seeds Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State earned byes to the second round. First-round matchups will take place on Dec. 20–21 at the home stadiums of the higher-seeded teams. The schools are all competing for a $115 million prize pool, with the finalists collecting $20 million apiece.
Energy Transfer Reaches FID on 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline Project
Energy Transfer (ET) reached a long-expected final investment decision...
Energy Transfer (ET) reached a long-expected final investment decision (FID) on a new natural gas pipeline project near Fort Worth, Texas. The project will eventually deliver 2.2 Bcf/d to growing markets connected to the company’s network.
Energy Transfer announced the FID on Dec. 6, though speculation that a decision was imminent had been building for months.
Energy Transfer plans to build the line in two phases. The first phase will include a 400-mile 42-inch pipeline with a capacity of 1.5 Bcf/d from Waha Hub to Maypearl, Texas, south of Dallas and Fort Worth. It will connect to Energy Transfer’s existing pipeline and storage infrastructure there.