Oil prices soar ahead of OPEC Vienna meeting
By Nigar Abbasova
World energy markets are still buffeted by conflicting trends leading to high volatility in price of the crude oil, while OPEC members seek to settle their differences on a deal to cut output.
Oil prices rose by more than 2 percent on November 15, bouncing back from multi-month lows on expectations that OPEC will agree in late November to cut production to reduce a supply glut.
North Sea Brent crude oil was up $1.05 a barrel at $45.48 after hitting a three-month low of $43.57 on Monday, Reuters reported. U.S. light crude was up $1.15 a barrel, or 2.7 percent, at $44.47. It reached a three-month low of $42.20 on Monday.
Oil producers in OPEC are due to meet on November 30 to agree to limit output. An outline deal was reached in September but negotiations on the detail are proving difficult, officials say.
The Vienna meeting is expected to become decisive for the market, while the proposed production ceiling ranges between 32.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) and 33 mb/d.
The producer countries of the cartel are now in the final stage of coordination the agreement.
Qatar, Algeria and Venezuela are supporters of the deal, while the major OPEC producers- Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq have not yet overcome differences over their shares in the market.
Although most of traders are generally pessimistic, comments from top officials of member countries insignificantly altered the sentiment in the market and renewed optimism that OPEC will agree on the production cuts.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister has said it is imperative OPEC reach a consensus on a deal to curb production, Algeria's state news agency APS said on Sunday. Moreover, Iran and Iraq, which are considered to be key producers, are also reported to be contemplating the proposals
Supply and demand remain among the most influential components of oil-market behavior. Unlike in most other markets, though, drastic changes in oil price do not necessarily kindle changes in demand.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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