2023-07-31 04:15:00
Brent crude futures fell 9 cents to $84.90 a barrel
Singapore – Archyde.com
Posted on: July 31, 2023: 08:15 AM GST Last updated: July 31, 2023: 09:00 AM GST
Oil prices hovered near their highest level in three months today, Monday, and are heading for their largest monthly gain in more than a year, amid expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend voluntary production cuts to September and global supplies tighten.
By 0005 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 9 cents to $84.90 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 17 cents to $80.41 a barrel.
The September Brent crude contract expires later today. The October contract was the most active, recording $84.23 a barrel, down 18 cents.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate settled on Friday at their highest levels since April, continuing their gains for the fifth week in a row, following prices were supported by tight global oil supplies and expectations of an end to US interest rate hikes. And the two benchmarks are on their way to end July with the largest monthly gain since January 2022.
Analysts expected that Saudi Arabia would extend the voluntary reduction of its oil production by one million barrels per day for another month, to include September.
“Oil prices have risen 18% since mid-June as a record rise in demand and a reduction in Saudi supply has led to a return of deficits in the markets amid the market’s abandonment of growth pessimism,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note on July 30.
Analysts added, “We still expect the additional Saudi cut of 1 million barrels per day to continue until September and to halve from October.”
The bank maintained its forecast for Brent crude at $86 a barrel for December and expects prices to rise to $93 in the second quarter of 2024.
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