The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russiaknown as OPEC+kept oil production policy unchanged, three alliance sources said after a meeting of its top ministers, at a time when the Petroleum reached its highest values in five months.
The price of Petroleum has recovered this year, driven by tighter supply, attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and the war in Middle East. Brent crude oil was quoted this Wednesday at $89.35 a barrel, its highest level since the end of October 2023, while those of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) In the United States for May they gained 28 cents, or 0.33%, to $85.43. Both advanced 1.7% in the previous session, to their highest level since October.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novaksaid on Friday that Russia decided to focus on reducing oil production rather than exports in the second quarter to equitably share output cuts with other OPEC+ member countries.
In a statement after the conclusion of the meeting, OPEC+ said it welcomed the Russian announcement on its production, the Reuters agency reported. “Participating countries with outstanding overproduction volumes for the months of January, February and March 2024 will submit their detailed compensation plans to the OPEC Secretariat by April 30, 2024,” according to the statement.
Last month, Iraq pledged to cut exports to offset pumping above its OPEC target, a pledge that would reduce shipments by 130,000 bpd starting in February. The 50,000 bpd cut in March, according to the survey, leaves more to do in the coming months to fulfill the promise.
Increase in crude oil stock in the United States
However, this afternoon prices retreated slightly after the US Energy Information Administration reported a 3.2 million barrel increase in crude oil inventories.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a decline of more than 1.5 million barrels, which was in line with preliminary data released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.
“The EIA crude oil report went in the opposite direction from what the API reported yesterday, which has helped stem the rally a bit,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Technical indicators also pressured prices, indicating that both Brent and WTI futures were overbought.
“We needed a little pullback to recharge before shooting up again. Overbought aside, market fundamentals continue to point upwards,” he said.
Source: Ambito
