West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures in New York closed higher on Tuesday (Jan. 31), supported by a weak dollar. Including data indicating that demand for crude oil in the United States rose in November.
- The WTI crude oil contract is delivered in March. They were up 97 cents, or 1.25%, at $78.87 a barrel.
- The Brent crude oil contract (BRENT) is delivered in March. She was down 41 cents, or 0.48%, at $84.49 a barrel.
WTI crude futures rose following the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that demand for crude oil and petroleum products in the US rose by 178,000 barrels per day in November. 2022 to 20.59 million barrels/day which is the highest level since August 2022
In addition, crude oil contracts were also supported by the weakening of the dollar. by dollar index The greenback, which measures the greenback once morest a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18 percent to 102.1000 overnight.
The dollar’s depreciation caused crude oil contracts, which were priced in dollars. It is cheaper and more attractive to investors holding other currencies.
As for the factor that made the dollar weaker, it came from the report that US labor costs in the fourth quarter of 2022 grew at the lowest rate in a year, which may lead the Federal Reserve (Fed) to delay raising interest rates. As for the latest meeting, which will be announced on Wednesday, February 1, US time. The market expects the Fed to raise interest rates by 0.25%.
Investors will be keeping an eye on the Joint Ministerial Review Committee (JMMC) meeting of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC Plus) today, as well as the weekly crude inventory report from the Energy Information Office of the Energy Information Administration. United States Government (EIA) today as well.
The market expects the JMMC meeting to agree that OPEC+ will maintain its current policy of cutting output by 2 million barrels per day until the end of 2023.
By InfoQuest News Agency (01 Feb. ’23)
