Oil prices fell on Friday, with the US crude dropping more than 4% on fresh trade tensions and record high production. However, prices still ended the month higher as Opec watchers expect an extension to a pact to control oil output beyond March. 
Brent crude futures settled at $62.43 a barrel, and was down 1.5% on the week. Still, the contract posted its biggest monthly gain since April with a rise of about 6%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled at $55.17, a fall of 4.1% on the week, after three consecutive increases. On a monthly basis, WTI is poised for a jump of about 2.3%, its highest since June. 
Both benchmarks rose in November partly on expectations that China and the US would reach an initial trade deal by the year-end, which in turn could lift doubts over future crude demand, along with it the health of the global economy. However, that has started to look less likely after China warned the US on Thursday it would take “firm counter measures” in response to US legislation backing anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. 
Prices have also been supported ahead of this week’s meeting of Opec and its allies, including Russia, the group known as Opec+, where it is expected the group will extend existing oil output cuts until mid-2020. Moscow is supporting Saudi Arabia’s push for stable oil prices amid the listing of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, and this week’s gathering coincides with the planned announcement of the final pricing for Aramco’s initial public offering. Investors, however, were also eyeing whether the producer group may even agree to deeper cuts. 


Gas
Asian spot prices for LNG slipped last week as new supply offers kept coming on the market amid subdued demand. The average LNG price for January delivery into northeast Asia was estimated at around $5.60 mmBtu, $0.10 down from last week. Buying activity was limited in both Asia and Europe as gas stocks were high while supply offers were ample. 
Two of Australia’s projects were selling strips of cargoes. Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) has offered one cargo a month for loading over 2020, while Ichthys LNG plant has offered five cargoes for loading between December and April. Nigeria LNG closed a tender for two December cargoes, while Russia’s Novatek might have offered up to four cargoes on the spot market, sources said. 
On the demand side, an announcement of South Korea’s energy ministry that the country will idle up to a quarter of its coal-fired power plants between December and February did not prevent prices from falling. Some demand came from Mexico where state power utility CFE was looking for five cargoes for delivery during January and February while India’s Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) was seeking a late December cargo. 
In Europe, several deals were done for delivery from end December to early February at discounts over $0.40 per mmBtu to the Dutch gas benchmark. In the US, natural gas futures fell significantly last week following the oil market and warmer weather. Henry Hub spot prices dropped around 14% from the previous week to settle at $2.28 MMBtu. 
n This article was supplied by 
the Abdullah bin Hamad 
Al-Attiyah International 
Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.
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