Risk-Averse Brokers Suspend Accepting New Trades from Oil Traders

The oil trading pits have been rife with speculation about the outcome of the meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing nations in Doha, Qatar this Sunday 17 April, where 20 oil-producing nations that are responsible for nearly three quarters of the world’s oil production will be present to contend with the global supply glut.

In light of the situation, some brokerages including RoboForex and HotForex have announced changes in trading parameters for CFDs on oil due to the upcoming OPEC meeting and the potential uncertainty surrounding the outcome. The brokers are optimizing their books and taking measures to deal with the uncertainty that is expected around the market opening hours on Monday the 18th of April. The companies claim that this is to allow their clients a continuous safe trading environment.

Clients will only be allowed to trade oil in ‘Close Only’ mode during the hours specified commencing 15 April and will not be able to place new orders. The “Close Only” mode will remain in force until standard market conditions are re-established on the Monday morning market open.

The markets have already reacted in advance of the meeting, with the crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate surging more than 4.5% this week alone. In fact, crude oil has seen a dramatic rebound since late January partly due to speculation over a potential deal to cap crude oil production levels among Russia and several major OPEC nations, most notably Saudi Arabia.

There has also been a continual weakening in oil prices over the last few months, resulting in a notable decrease in US oil output, providing a level of respite to other major oil producers as well as to oil prices. Hence, Sunday’s hotly-anticipated output deal negotiations could determine whether there will be a further recovery in oil or if it will stop dead in its tracks.