OPEC, for some quiet moments..

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With production and inventories at record levels despite the total collapse in rig counts, all eyes remain on Baker Hughes data for any signal the algos can use to mount a run. The total rig count fell for the 12th week, down 43 to 1267. This 3.3% decline is the slowest drop in 6 weeks and oil prices are sliding on this news. The key level to watch for WTI is $48.24 which moves it into the red for the 8th month in a row.

Oil Prices Tumble As Pace Of Rig Count Decline Slows

Oil prices have stabilized somewhat around the $60 per barrel mark, and over the past few weeks oil has shown less volatility than what we have grown used to in the preceding six or seven months. But another swoon could be just over the horizon. That is because oil producers are starting to run out of storage. As production has soared and global demand has failed to keep up, oil producers have been diverting oil into storage tanks at a remarkable rate since last summer.

This Week In Energy: Data Pointing To Another Huge Fall In Oil Prices

LNG landings in Europe are now twice as high as they were last year, according to a Reuters report. Tankers are coming from all directions – from Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, and Norway. They are destined to dock in Belgium, the UK, and the Netherlands. The NBP marker – a price for LNG arriving in the United Kingdom – has actually surpassed the spot price in Asia, and has recently traded at $1.20-per-million-Btu premium. “Some trading companies are also trying to divert cargoes away from the east towards Europe,” an oil and gas trader told Reuters in an interview.

Europe Overtakes Asia As LNG’s Hottest Market