Crude prices edge up
By Sara Israfilbayova
World oil prices are growing in the course of trading on Tuesday amid the data of the American Petroleum Institute (API) about the unexpected weekly decline in U.S. stocks of raw materials, as well as with support from the correction in the U.S. stock market after a strong fall.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.1 percent to $66.93 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.1 percent at $63.35 a barrel, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Prices for “black gold” are supported by API statistics, according to which the oil reserves in the U.S. decreased by 1.05 million barrels to 418.4 million barrels following the results of the working week, which ended on February 2. At the same time, analysts predicted an increase in stocks of raw materials by 2.5 million barrels.
Now investors are expecting the publication of data from the U.S. Energy Department. Experts predict an increase in the gold reserves in the U.S. by 3.189 million barrels after an increase of 6.776 million the previous week.
Moreover, an additional positive factor for the global oil market is the correction on the U.S. stock exchanges after a sharp fall on February 5. In particular, the main U.S. stock indexes on February 6, rose by 1.8-2.3 percent.
OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.
Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.
OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.
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