The investment seeks to reflect the performance, less expenses, of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light, sweet crude oil. The fund will invest in futures contracts forlight, sweet crude oil, other types of crude oil, diesel-heating oil, gasoline, natural gas, and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures Exchange or other U.S. and foreign exchanges.
Crude prices have surged nearly 8% this morning as OPEC gathers for its semi-annual conclave in Vienna and there is fresh optimism that a deal can be found to cut or at least freeze production.
OPEC agrees first output cut since 2008, details unclear By Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal | VIENNA OPEC has agreed its first limit on oil output since 2008, an OPEC source told Reuters after Saudi Arabia said it was prepared to accept "a big hit" on production and agree to arch-rival Iran freezing output at pre-sanctions levels. Brent crude futures jumped 8 percent to more than $50 a barrel on hopes Riyadh had finally reached a compromise with Iran after insisting in recent weeks that Tehran fully participate in any cut. The source said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had on Wednesday agreed a deal in line with an accord the group reached in Algiers in September. OPEC member Algeria was proposing to set a new production ceiling at 32.5 million barrels per day, down from current levels of 33.6 million. The source gave no further details as two other OPEC sources said debates were continuing on the size of each member country's cut.
In his comments, Minister al-Falih confirmed that the output ceiling being discussed by OPEC is 32.5 million barrels per day. The minister also made public OPEC's "ask" with regard to Russia and other non-OPEC producers, which are apparently being asked to cut an additional 0.6 million barrels per day.
Crude Oil Prices Have Limited Downside Potential Crude oil prices enrolled a fifth straight session of gains during Tuesday’s trade, buoyed by an expectation of a draw in U.S. crude oil inventories. The American Petroleum Institute reported a draw of 4.15 million barrels in the U.S. crude stockpiles last week, while a Reuters poll indicated a weekly draw of 2.4 million barrels. The official report from the Energy Information Administration is due today, which could move prices either way.
