WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil slumped on Tuesday as Iraq resumed crude flow from Lukoil's West Qurna oil fields while the U.S. dollar gained ground after job openings data from the U.S.
WTI Crude Oil for January delivery was last seen trading down by $0.66 (or 1.12%) at $58.22 per barrel.
After a weekend shutdown due to a pipeline leakage, crude flow from Russian oil major Lukoil's West Qurna-2 storage tanks resumed toward the major Tuba depots.
West Qurna-2, one of the world's largest oil fields, produces roughly 460,000 barrels per day and holds around 13 billion barrels of recoverable reserves-about 10% of Iraq's total output.
Lukoil has a 75% operational stake, and the Iraqi government owns the rest.
The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported that job openings increased by 12,000 to 7.670 million in October, up from 7.658 million in September. The numbers for September showed a 431,000 jump from August's 7.227 million.
The figures for both months have surpassed expectations of 7.2 million.
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 99 in November, the highest in 3 months, compared to 98.2 in October.
The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 99.27, up by 0.18 (or 0.18%) today.
Tension between the U.S. and Venezuela has escalated further. U.S. President Donald Trump has long been accusing Venezuela's current regime of promoting illegal narco-trade as well as human trafficking that seeps into the U.S. and affects the U.S. social fabric.
In an interview to Politico, Trump stated that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's 'days are numbered.' However, Trump refrained to respond on whether the U.S. would send troops to the country.
Trump is also pressuring the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
With a rate cut seen as a near-certainty, the two-day meeting of the FOMC that begins today is anticipated by traders to understand the policy outlook of the Fed.
Oil markets are currently concerned about tackling slowing demand growth versus excess supply.
In its November Short-Term Energy Outlook report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects crude prices to fall through the end of 2025. EIA expects domestic oil production to average 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025 and 2026, up from its previous forecast of 13.5 million bpd for both years.
Recent forecast by the International Energy Agency aligned with a bearish narrative.
The surplus of around 4.1 million barrels per day projected by the IEA would be equivalent to nearly 4% of global oil demand.
If the demand growth is weaker, markets would not be able to absorb the excess inventory, and this could trigger a correction in oil prices.
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