Oil stays below US$60

LONDON – Oil lost over a dollar to fall below US$60 yesterday as investors preferred to put money into other commodities and wait for signs that Opec members would adhere to their pledge to cut crude supply.

US light crude fell US$1,18 a barrel to US$59,57 by 1123 GMT. Brent crude fell US$1,39 to US$59,69 a barrel.It will be some time before output cuts by members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have any impact on high crude stocks in the world’s largest consumer the United States.Shipments take weeks to arrive in the US from the Gulf.Until then, investors see potential for more gains elsewhere, said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.”Large speculative funds remain more focused on other commodities where the fundamentals are clearer,” Jakob said in a report.”Over the next ten days we believe we can drift again towards lower values of the range US$57-US$64.”Zinc futures which touched a record high on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and led base metals higher.Strong demand from rapidly-growing China and India is fuelling the rise on metals.On oil markets, Some investors doubt Opec members will fully adhere to their agreement to cut 1,2 million barrels per day (bpd) from supply from November 1.To date, Opec’s largest exporter Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only countries to have informed customers of supply cuts.Refiners who buy crude from other big Opec producers like Iran and Kuwait say they have yet to see receive notification of the new curbs.Preliminary data for October planted further doubts among investors on Friday as it showed a small rise in Opec output.The group’s October production was 30,18 million bpd, up from 30,15 in September, consultant Petrologistics said on Friday, despite pledges that month from Nigeria and Venezuela to voluntarily cut back.”We’ve had some fund selling, the market is still in a bearish frame of mind,” said Rob Laughlin, broker at Man Financial.Nampa-ReutersBrent crude fell US$1,39 to US$59,69 a barrel.It will be some time before output cuts by members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have any impact on high crude stocks in the world’s largest consumer the United States.Shipments take weeks to arrive in the US from the Gulf.Until then, investors see potential for more gains elsewhere, said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.”Large speculative funds remain more focused on other commodities where the fundamentals are clearer,” Jakob said in a report.”Over the next ten days we believe we can drift again towards lower values of the range US$57-US$64.”Zinc futures which touched a record high on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and led base metals higher.Strong demand from rapidly-growing China and India is fuelling the rise on metals.On oil markets, Some investors doubt Opec members will fully adhere to their agreement to cut 1,2 million barrels per day (bpd) from supply from November 1.To date, Opec’s largest exporter Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only countries to have informed customers of supply cuts.Refiners who buy crude from other big Opec producers like Iran and Kuwait say they have yet to see receive notification of the new curbs.Preliminary data for October planted further doubts among investors on Friday as it showed a small rise in Opec output.The group’s October production was 30,18 million bpd, up from 30,15 in September, consultant Petrologistics said on Friday, despite pledges that month from Nigeria and Venezuela to voluntarily cut back.”We’ve had some fund selling, the market is still in a bearish frame of mind,” said Rob Laughlin, broker at Man Financial.Nampa-Reuters