Therefore, OPEC has raised its supply to Asia, and Russia has also re-routed a great chunk of its rising production toward China and the Asia-Pacific over the past decade. Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as China's biggest supplier last year, exporting 1.05 million bpd of crude versus Saudi Arabia's 1.02 million.

К 9.19 МСК фьючерсы на нефть сорта Brent опустились на 0,23 процента до $55,45 за баррель. Фьючерсы на американскую нефть WTI к этому времени торговались у отметки $52,71, на 0,19 процента ниже предыдущего закрытия.

К 9.27 МСК фьючерсы на нефть сорта Brent опустились на 0,11 процента до $55,17 за баррель. Фьючерсы на американскую нефть WTI к этому времени торговались у отметки $52,49, на 0,27 процента ниже предыдущего закрытия.

К 9.36 МСК фьючерсы на нефть сорта Brent опустились на 0,49 процента до $55,25 за баррель. Фьючерсы на американскую нефть WTI к этому времени торговались у отметки $52,92, на 0,47 процента ниже предыдущего закрытия.

Igor Yusufov, Russia’s energy minister from 2001 to 2004, said U.S. shale producers wouldn’t attempt to enter core OPEC and Russia markets where prices are too low for them to compete. “The fact is that shale oil and gas are doing well in markets that start from a certain price,” he said in an email exchange with The Wall Street Journal.

Фьючерсы на нефть сорта Brent к 9.11 МСК торговались по $55,57 за баррель, прибавив 49 цент к предыдущему закрытию. Нефть WTI выросла в цене на 43 цента, составив $53,18 за баррель.

The World Bank is holding steady its crude oil price forecast for the year at $55 per barrel, a 29 percent jump from 2016. The energy price forecast assumes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producers will partially comply with an agreement to limit production after a long period of unrestrained output.

Brent crude oil spot prices are expected to remain fairly flat during 2017, in part as a result of the responsiveness of U.S. tight oil production to rising oil prices in late 2016, and they are expected to average $53/b for the year.

PetroChina, China's biggest listed oil company by assets, expected the supply and demand for global oil market would gradually become balanced in 2017 and international oil prices would "recover," the company said late Wednesday in a profits warning for the 2016 annual result.

EIA expects the Henry Hub natural gas spot price to average $3.55 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2017 and $3.73/MMBtu in 2018, both higher than the 2016 average of $2.51/MMBtu. Higher prices in 2017 and 2018 reflect natural gas consumption and exports exceeding supply and imports, leading to lower average inventory levels.