World crude prices edge down
By Sara Israfilbayova
World oil prices of reference marks change moderately and in different directions during the trades on Friday.
Brent crude dropped 0.5 percent, to $74.10 a barrel. On July 12 it gained $1.05 a barrel, rebounding from a session low of $72.67.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) edged down 12 cents to $70.21 a barrel, after falling 5 cents in the previous session, Reuters reported.
Investors continue to assess future prospects for supply and demand in the market, taking into account the decisions made by OPEC + and the risks of reducing supplies from Venezuela and Iran.
Reports of OPEC and IEA, published this week, did not give unambiguous signals to market participants. The cartel in its report pointed to the absence of risks of a supply shortage on the horizon of 2018-2019, while the IEA report noted that the decline in exports from Venezuela and Iran, as well as any other supply disruptions, makes the market vulnerable.
Fears of a slowdown in the global economy and a decline in demand for commodity assets have led to a decline in the Bloomberg commodity index to 1.5-year lows, while the cost of copper, which is attributed to outpacing indicators of economic growth, has fallen to the lowest levels over the past 2 years.
The nearest driver for the oil market can be the news background, which will develop as a result of the meeting of the leaders of the United States and Russia. According to preliminary data, the agenda of the meeting includes discussion of the situation in the energy market.
Earlier, OPEC and a group of non-OPEC countries agreed that they would return to 100 percent compliance with previously agreed oil output cuts, after months of underproduction by OPEC countries.
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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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is
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