Brent, US Crude reacts differently to Saudi King’s death

Brent crude was buoyed by market uncertainty over the future of Saudi oil output, while US crude fell on more signs of oversupply. Brent closed up 27 cents at $48.79 a barrel. U.S. crude settled down 72 cents at $45.59.

Saudi Arabia’s new king, Salman, who took the throne after the death of his brother Abdullah, is expected to continue OPEC’s policy of keeping oil output steady to protect market share.

OPEC announced last November it would keep output steady at 30 million barrels a day, despite pleas from some members for it to cut output to support prices and revenues.

Reports of a partial shutdown at BP’s oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana, weighed on US crude. Sources familiar with the plant’s operations said they did not know when the 90,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) crude distillation unit would be restarted.

But despite a few bullish indicators, WTI closed lower on worries over the country’s worsening supply glut. Oil inventory is already at an 80-year high for this time of year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

A trader quoted energy data provider Genscape as saying US crude stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub rose 2.7 million barrels in the week.

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States fell by 49 to 1,317 in a seventh straight week of declines, according to a survey released by oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc.