Daily Times

Crude oil prices rose around one percent on Wednesday, gaining back some of the previous session losses amid supply concerns. As of 1315 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $1.07 (+1.00 percent) to reach 108.32 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, jumped to $103.80 a barrel, up by $1.24 (+1.21 percent).

The price for Opec basket was recorded almost flat at $110.52 a barrel. 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 $113.36 a barrel with a decrease of 3.28 percent and the price of Russian Sokol slipped to $98.90 a barrel with a 3.53 percent decrease.

Oil prices rebounded as a drop in US oil inventories and concerns over tighter supplies from Russia and Libya drove a recovery from the previous session’s sharp losses. Crude oil futures were higher over the possibility of a EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports and Libyan supply disruptions.

The IMF on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global growth by nearly a full percentage point, citing the economic impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and warned that inflation was now a “clear and present danger” for many countries. On the supply side, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, produced 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) below its production targets in March, as Russian output began to decline following sanctions imposed by the West. Russia produced about 3,00,000 bpd below its target in March at 10.018 million bpd.