Daily Times

Crude oil prices extended previous sessions’ gains on Thursday amid expectations that Opec+ will continue to cap crude output next year to support the market.

As of 1215 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.65 (+0.78 percent) to reach $83.75 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went up by $0.61 (+0.78 percent) to $78.47 a barrel. Both benchmarks have gained about 4 percent since Tuesday.

The price of Russian Sokol increased by $1.67 (+2.18 percent) to $78.14. Arab Light prices witnessed an increase of $1.07 (+1.24 percent) to reach $87.58 a barrel. On the other hand, the price for Opec Basket increased to $83.40 a barrel with an uptick of $0.65 (+0.79 percent). The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend, Girassol, Djeno, Zafiro, Rabi Light, Iran Heavy, Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider, Bonny Light, Arab Light, Murban and Merey. The Opec+ ministerial meeting is underway on November 30. The meeting is expected to chart the course of crude output cuts next year and discuss any possible changes to the group’s long-standing agreement aimed at stabilizing the oil market. The 2024 production quotas decided in June included a lower output target for nine of the 23 member countries, which are Russia, Nigeria, Angola, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Brunei and Sudan. Rystad Energy, which expects oil to trade close to $80 a barrel next year without further supply reductions, said it would be difficult for those countries to accept lower production quotas.

The oil market also found support from a drop in US crude inventories. The US crude oil inventories fell by 817,000 barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is expected to reduce its official selling price for crude for Asian buyers, a survey among analysts conducted by Bloomberg has shown. According to the survey sample, including a total of six refiners and traders, the move would be prompted by intensified competition for the Asian market and cheaper crude from the United States and Europe, as well as Guyana.

According to the Bloomberg survey, the average price cut forecast is for $1.05 per barrel of Arab Light, for deliveries in February next year. However, the individual forecasts ranged between $0.75 per barrel and $2 per barrel, the news outlet also reported.