OIL/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Oil prices reversed gains after hitting $75 a barrel on Tuesday [7-3-18], as Saudi Arabia said it is prepared to pump more oil to ease supply constraints in the market. Prices swung wildly. Light, sweet crude for August delivery traded in the morning at the highest level since November 2014, before reversing course and falling more than 1%…Supply disruptions have lifted prices to multiyear highs this year, and U.S. futures have rallied recently on supply outages in Libya and at a Canadian facility that weighed on available U.S. crude supply. However, the possibility of more supply being added to the market helped ease concerns. In a Tuesday statement, Saudi Arabia asserted its willingness to use spare production capacity to increase market supply. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump called on the country to increase production to help ease fast-rising crude prices…Traders also cited chatter in the market that Mr. Trump would decide to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for extra barrels of crude. At this point, such talk is just speculation in the market. Dipping into the reserve is a possibility that energy secretary Rick Perry has said he opposes.”
–Stephanie Yang and Neanda Salvaterra, “Oil Prices Pull Back as Saudi Arabia Readies Supply,” The Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2018 1:24 pm