Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

World oil prices rose by more than 1.5 percent on September 8, following U.S. data on a large drawdown in crude stocks, which was triggered by the impact of an Atlantic storm.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 75 cents a barrel and stood at $48.73, while WTI crude prices recorded an increase of 85 cents and stood at $46.35 per barrel, Reuters reported.

Tropical Storm Hermine, which threatened the Gulf Coast refining region last week before moving to the East Coast of the United States, led to the loss of some U.S. oil production.

Stocks of U.S. crude, which have been at record highs in the past two years fell by 12.1 million barrels last week, while traders expected an increase of about 200,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, the issue of output freeze, which will be discussed in the upcoming Algeria meeting, still remains one of the most influential topics in the oil market.

Algeria’s Oil Minister Nureddin Bouterfa will discuss the current situation in the “black gold” market and oil prices with his Saudi Arabian colleague Khalid Al-Falih and OPEC’s new secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo on September 8, Sputnik agency reported, citing a source in Algeria’s oil ministry.

The source also said that Algerian authority has already got a consent of Iranian side on the issue of setting oil prices at the level of $50-60 per barrel.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani earlier said that Iran, the third-largest producer in OPEC, will support any measures aimed at stabilizing the “black gold” market should fair imposition of quotas on output be pursued in the market.

The recent developments in the market mounted speculation that OPEC nations and Russia may reach an agreement to freeze production.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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