ISLAMABAD
Crude oil prices inched up on Wednesday after falling to a six-month low in the previous session amid demand and oversupply concerns.
As of 1215 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.15 (+0.20 percent) to reach $73.39 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went up by $0.19 (+0.26 percent) to $68.79 a barrel. Brent settled 3.67 percent lower at $73.24 a barrel, the lowest since July, on Tuesday, while WTI closed down 3.8 percent at $68.61 a barrel.
However, the price of Russian Sokol decreased by $3.95 (-5.53 percent) to $67.54. Arab Light prices witnessed a decrease of $4.25 (-5.29 percent) to reach $76.11 a barrel.
On the other hand, the price for Opec Basket inched up to $77.98 a barrel with a gain of $0.51 (+0.66 percent). 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.
The US inflation eased in November but was higher than market expectations, cooling any hopes that the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates early next year. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1 percent last month, the Labour Department reported on Tuesday. On an annual basis, inflation rose 3.1 percent, down from 3.2 percent in October. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday after its last policy meeting of the year.
Since November 30, when the Opec+ alliance of oil-producing countries announced voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day for the first quarter of 2024, oil prices have fallen by nearly 13 percent. The slide in oil prices is partly due to mounting fears that producers would not comply with the supply cuts. Traders are also concerned that the alliance could unwind its production cuts next year and flood the market to fight for market share.
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration in its latest short-term energy outlook report raised its forecast for supply this year by 300,000 bpd to 12.93 million bpd from its previous report.
