Volatility in the oil market rose ahead of manufacturing PMI indices for developed countries for September. As a result, quotations of futures for December (the nearest delivery month) yesterday first fell to $ 76.5 / bbl. Still, in the afternoon, they recovered to $ 79.3 a barrel after it became known that the Chinese authorities had ordered state-owned energy companies to secure supplies at any cost.
Bloomberg reports that the order by Vice Premier Han Zheng, who oversees the energy and industrial sectors, during an emergency meeting. The PRC authorities made it clear that power outages are unacceptable. Furthermore, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang promised to make every effort to maintain economic growth.
China’s manufacturing PMI released yesterday showed that activity in the sector declined in September for the first time since the pandemic outbreak. Fixation on Brent futures with the nearest execution date passed at the level of $ 78.52 per barrel. The positive sentiment eased somewhat after Reuters reported that OPEC + members next week may consider a more significant increase in production than expected (previously, planned to increase production by 0.4 million barrels per day monthly).
White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said that the rise in oil prices is a concern in the United States.
The American authorities are already in contact with OPEC representatives on this matter. On Friday, investors await the September Manufacturing PMIs for Developed Markets, the CPI for the Eurozone for September, data on personal income and expenditures in the US for August, and a weekly Baker Hughes report on active oil rigs. In our opinion, these publications may increase volatility, but Brent quotes are likely to end the week near the current level of $ 78 per barrel.
