US Shale production almost up to 9mbd Weaker US Dollar, Improved Market Sentiment Lends Buoyancy to Crude Oil Prices, Commerzbank Says
06:48 AM EDT, 07/19/2022 (MT Newswires) -- The weaker US dollar and better market sentiment lent buoyancy to crude oil prices at the start of the week, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate contracts back up to above $100 per barrel levels, Commerzbank said in a Tuesday note.
While Saudi Arabia did not provide a clear commitment to increase production, a US government representative said on US television that there are still hopes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would step up output, without mentioning any specific figures or countries, the bank noted.
Signs of increased oil production from Libya had no negative impact on prices, Commerzbank said. The chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp. has been replaced and an agreement was reached with protesters on the resumption of oil production, which is set to increase to 1.2 million barrels again in a week, according to the new NOC head.
Meanwhile, US shale oil production is set to surpass 9 million barrels per day for the first time since March 2020, in August, putting it around 200,000 b/d short of the record reached in autumn 2019, the German bank said.