US Daily Oil Summary: Crude Production Hits New Monthly High

US crude production in September hit a new monthly record of 13.24m b/d, according to EIA data Nov. 30.

• Crude production rose 1.7% on the month, the largest monthly rise since March. The overall rise was aided by a boost in output from North Dakota, which rose by 6.5% to 1.3m b/d. North Dakota is the location of Bakken Shale.
• Today is the deadline set by the US government for Venezuela to release political prisoners and Americans that the US says are 'wrongfully detained', as well as lifting public office bans. The ban currently applies to the winner of the main opposition's presidential primary, Maria Cornia Machado. Should Venezuela not comply in a satisfactory manner, sanctions could be reimposed.
• USD: Higher US yields have contributed to a rebound for the USD index on Thursday. Softer headline US data was brushed aside with some firm underlying details supporting the greenback. An additional bout of usd weakness around the month-end fix also proved short lived with the DXY close to session highs approaching the APAC crossover, up 0.75% on the session.
• The Chicago Business Barometer™, produced with MNI surged +11.8 points to 55.8 from 44.0 in October. This represents the first expansionary reading since August 2022.
• Initial jobless claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 218k (cons 218k) in the week to Nov 25 after a slightly upward revised 211k (initial 209k).
• PCE core services ex-housing 0.148% M/M after an upward revised 0.447% M/M (initial 0.42).