Daily Times

Crude oil prices dipped after the OPEC+ agreed to lift the group’s production by 432,000 barrels per day from May and US President Joe Biden reportedly agreed to release some 180 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve.

As of 1355 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $4.81 (-4.24 percent) to reach 108.64 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, slipped to $104.18 a barrel, down by $3.64 (-3.38 percent).

The price for Opec basket was recorded at $110.46 a barrel with an increase of 0.37 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.

Arab Light was available at $109.83 a barrel with a decrease of 1.29 percent and the price of Russian Sokol inched down to $97.02 a barrel with a 1.20 percent decrease.

The OPEC+ meeting has concluded that no change in production plans is needed, agreeing to lift the group’s production by another 432,000 barrels per day starting in May. The 32,000 bpd above the originally agreed to 400,000 bpd is due to shifting baselines of five of its members.

Saudi Arabia’s production quota has been lifted to 10.549 million bpd, with Russia’s quota lifted by the same amount. The UAE’s quota is 3.04 million bpd, Kuwait’s is 2,694, while Iraq’s is 4.461 million bpd.

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing for what would be the largest ever release of crude oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, totalling some 180 million barrels. According to different media reports, the White House is preparing to release up to one million barrels of crude daily to rein in retail fuel prices.

The specific period of the release has yet to be agreed, but it could be a few months.