Oil Set for Monthly Gain as Specter of Supply Cuts Haunts Market - Bloomberg

Oil Set for Monthly Gain as Specter of Supply Cuts Haunts Market - Bloomberg:

At the end of a turbulent month of trading, oil futures are revealing a potential crude crunch outside the U.S. as well as too much supply stuck in the heart of America.

After prices fell in the first half of August on fears that a U.S.-China trade spat and an emerging market crisis stoked by turmoil in Turkey would dent demand, oil has rebounded in recent weeks. Global benchmark Brent crude is poised for a 4.6 percent gain this month, while the advance in U.S. marker West Texas Intermediate is smaller at 2.3 percent.

The bigger jump in London futures has taken their premium over those in New York to the biggest since June, and reflects growing concerns that impending U.S. sanctions on Iran will curb the OPEC member’s exports and create a supply gap that other producers may struggle to fill. Meanwhile, in America, booming output inland is increasingly finding it difficult to reach refineries on the coast and export terminals because of a lack of pipelines.