ISLAMABAD: Crude oil prices remained volatile on Friday and edged lower after going high in the early trading. As of 1245 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.62 (-0.58 percent) to reach 106.02 a barrel. During the early trade, Brent crude prices jumped to $109.50 per barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, slipped to $102.63 a barrel, down by $0.35 (-0.34 percent). The WTI crude increased to $109.50 a barrel during the early trade. The price for Opec basket was recorded at $104.96 a barrel with an increase of 0.86 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. Arab Light was available at $109.18 a barrel with an increase of 8.50 percent and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $89.87 a barrel with a 9.87 percent increase. The International Energy Agency has warned that energy markets could face “the biggest supply crisis in decades.” The IEA said global energy markets were at a crossroads following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. TLTP
It sees 3 million barrels per day of Russian oil output lost from April due to sanctions and buyers shunning exports but added that could increase if restrictions or public condemnation escalates.
The organisation added that Saudi Arabia and the UAE held “substantial spare capacity that could immediately help offset the shortfall, noting that OPEC has so far opted not to increase output.
Morgan Stanley increased its third quarter 2022 Brent price estimate to $120 a barrel, up from $100 a barrel, as it changed both supply and demand forecasts. The bank’s analysts cut their demand forecast by 600,000 barrels per day, citing fresh lockdowns in China and a moderation in GDP forecasts globally. But that was outweighed by their 1 million barrel a day cut to Russian production forecasts.
