2023-02-01 12:30:00
OIL PRICE: BRENT BELOW $86, WTI NEAR $79
REUTERS - Feb 1, 2023 - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as signs of slowing inflation in the United States eased fears that the world's largest oil user may face a recession because of further interest rate hikes and a weaker dollar supported some buying interest.
Brent crude futures gained 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $85.54 a barrel at 0727 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $79.07 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were up for a second day, after gaining about 1% in the previous session.
"Sentiment shifted amid a positive company reporting season. Signs of cooling inflation also raised expectations that the Fed will be able to pause rate hikes," ANZ commodities analyst said in a note.
Tamer rate hike expectations helped lower the dollar index , which supported oil prices as a weaker greenback makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
All eyes will be on a meeting on Wednesday of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, where producers are expected to endorse their current output targets agreed in November.
OPEC's oil output fell in January, as Iraqi exports dropped and Nigeria's output did not recover, with the 10 OPEC members pumping 920,000 barrels per day (bpd) below the group's targeted volumes under the OPEC+ agreement, a Reuters survey found.
The shortfall was bigger than the deficit of 780,000 bpd in December.
"Oil prices seem primed to navigate a period of heightened volatility ... OPEC+ is likely to stick to its current production targets, however, Russia is leaning towards increasing oil exports to Asian buyers at deep discounts, which can disrupt the balance in oil markets," independent oil market expert Sugandha Sachdeva said.
Upgraded global growth forecasts by the IMF and the expectation of strong pent-up demand from China amid higher mobility are also underpinning oil prices, Sachdeva added.
Separately, data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group showed crude stocks rose by about 6.3 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 27, according to market sources.
That was a bigger build than the 400,000 barrels that analysts polled by Reuters had expected on average.
Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by about 1.5 million barrels, contrary to analysts' expectations of a 1.3 million barrel drop.
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Earlier:
2023, January, 30, 11:45:00
OIL PRICE: BRENT NEAR $86, WTI NEAR $79
Brent fell 74 cents, or 0.8%, to $85.92 a barrel , WTI was at $79.07 a barrel, down 61 cents, or 0.8%.
2023, January, 30, 11:35:00
CHOPPY OIL
Start of a new week at the months end has been very rangebound in terms of the price action on the Oil tabs. Previous week has been swings on the #BRENT & #WTI with an average of 3%(+/-) on the Bearish bias majorly as we approach the Globex Open.Asia session will shed light on the weekly movement.
2023, January, 27, 10:15:00
OIL PRICE: BRENT BELOW $88, WTI ABOVE $81
Brent gained 30 cents, or 0.34%, to $87.77 a barrel, WTI rose 34 cents to $81.35 per barrel.
2023, January, 25, 10:45:00
OIL PRICE: BRENT BELOW $87, WTI ABOVE $80
Brent rose 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $86.35 per barrel, WTI climbed 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $80.26 per barrel.
2023, January, 23, 12:40:53
OIL PRICE: BRENT BELOW $88, WTI BELOW $82
Brent was down 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $87.52, WTI fell 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $81.56 a barrel.
2023, January, 23, 12:25:00
CHINA'S ENERGY UP
China’s National Energy administration (NEA) has announced that the country’s installed capacity increased by nearly 8% 2022.
2023, January, 20, 11:35:00
RUSSIAN DIESEL FOR EUROPE
As a result, Russian diesel makes up 27% of Europe's total 1.69 million b/d of imports in the period, the data showed.
