ISLAMABAD: Oil futures went upward on Thursday after declining earlier in the day as Opec+ leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed their close cooperation in the crude market. As of 1115 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.93 (+1.08 percent) to reach $86.75 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went up by $0.74 (+0.89 percent) to $84.23 a barrel. However, the price of Russian Sokol decreased by $1.80 (-2.24 percent) to $78.51. Arab Light prices witnessed a decrease of $2.05 (-2.25 percent) to reach $88.87 a barrel. On the other hand, the price for Opec Basket surged to $90.78 with an increase of $0.79 (+0.88 percent). TLTP
The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend, Girassol, Djeno, Zafiro, Rabi Light, Iran Heavy, Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider, Bonny Light, Arab Light, Murban and Merey.
In a joint interview on Russian state TV, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the producers would continue to act preemptively, while Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the market balance was fragile.
At the Russian Energy Week on Thursday, Novak said the drop in oil prices following Monday’s surge suggested that supply risks from the Israel-Gaza war were not as high as previously thought.
“It’s kind of hard to forecast at the moment … if prices are higher, it means that the risks are higher too. I guess now, the risks are gauged as not as high at the moment,” Novak said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that coordination between Opec+ partners would continue. “This is important for the predictability of the oil market and as a result for the welfare of all humanity,” Mr Putin said at the Russian Energy Week.
Meanwhile, US crude stocks, an indicator of fuel demand, rose by 12.9 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said. The good news is that Opec now has a decent spare capacity to stabilise global oil prices thanks to their production cut strategy.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund kept its global economic expansion forecast for 2023 at 3 percent, below the 3.5 percent expansion recorded last year, retaining the historical growth average of 3.8 percent. The IMF estimates growth to hit 2.9 percent next year, a 0.1 percentage point downgrade from its forecast in July.
