ISLAMABAD
Crude oil prices inched up on Monday to start the week on a positive note after going down in previous three weeks.
As of 1210 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.23 (+0.28 percent) to reach $81.66 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went up by $0.25 (+0.32 percent) to $77.42 a barrel.
Similarly, the price of Russian Sokol increased by $0.27 (+0.36 percent) to $75.11. Arab Light prices witnessed an increase of $0.23 (+0.27 percent) to reach $84.97 a barrel. On the other hand, the price for Opec Basket decreased to $83.22 a barrel with a decrease of $1.05 (-1.25 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 oil market fundamentals remain “remarkably stable” despite the uncertainty and potential for volatility, S&P Global Commodity Insights said. Growth in non-Opec+ supply, decelerating demand growth in China and sizable Opec spare capacity point to a well-supplied market in coming months, S&P Global said.
“Oil prices have remained below where they were in late September – a week before the Hamas attack,” said Jim Burkhard, vice president and head of research for oil markets, energy and mobility at S&P Global Commodity Insights. “Strong oil market fundamentals are prevailing over any fears at the moment.”
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Thursday that oil demand was healthy and that speculators were to blame for the recent drop in crude prices. “It’s not weak,” Prince Abdulaziz was quoted as saying by Bloomberg on the sidelines of an event in Riyadh. “People are pretending it’s weak. It’s all a ploy.”
The minister said some oil market participants had been misunderstanding increases in oil exports in recent months from Opec and their correlation with those countries’ production.
Shipments are seasonal and should not be viewed as reflecting fluctuations in output, he said.
The Opec+ group of oil producers is set to meet in Vienna on November 26 to set output targets for the first half of 2024. Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to extend their voluntary production cuts of a combined 1.3 million bpd into the new year if the downward pressure on oil prices continues, according to MUFG.
