2024-04-01 04:00:44
Oil prices rose on Monday, adding to their recent gains on expectations of tighter supply due to OPEC+ cuts, attacks on Russian refineries and positive Chinese manufacturing data that supports prospects for improving oil prices. Requirement.
Brent crude rose 29 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $87.29 a barrel by 0331 GMT following rising 2.4 percent last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $83.48 a barrel, up 31 cents, or 0.4%, following a 3.2% gain last week.
Trading volumes are expected to be low on Monday as several countries are closed for the Easter holiday.
Both benchmarks finished higher for the third consecutive month in March, with Brent holding above $85 a barrel since the middle of last month, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, have pledged to extend production cuts until the end of June, which might tighten crude supplies during the northern hemisphere summer .
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that his oil companies would focus on cutting production rather than exports during the second quarter, in order to fairly share production cuts with other member countries. ‘OPEC+.
Drone attacks from Ukraine have knocked several Russian refineries offline, which is expected to reduce Russia’s fuel exports.
“Geopolitical risks to crude and heavy commodity supplies add to strong demand fundamentals in the second quarter,” Energy Aspects analysts said in a note.
Nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude processing capacity is offline following the attacks, impacting its exports of high-sulfur fuel oil, which are processed at refineries Chinese and Indian, added the consulting firm.
In Europe, oil demand was firmer than expected, growing 100,000 bpd year-on-year in February, Goldman Sachs analysts said, while they forecast a contraction of 200,000 bpd in 2024.
Strong demand in Europe, slowing US supply growth and the possible extension of OPEC+ cuts through 2024 outweigh the downside risk from continued weakness in demand in China, they said in a note.
Crude oil production in the United States, the world’s largest producer, fell 6% in January from December’s record level, following frigid weather, according to U.S. Administration data. energy information (Energy Information Administration) published Friday.
“We view risks to our forecast that Brent will average $83 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024 as moderately tilted to the upside,” the analysts said.
Also supportive of prices, China’s manufacturing activity rose for the first time in six months in March, an official survey of factories showed on Sunday, supporting oil demand at the largest crude importer in the world, even if the crisis in the real estate sector remains a drag on the economy.
Investors are also scrutinizing U.S. economic data for signs of when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, which will support the global economy and oil demand. (Reporting by Florence Tan and Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian Schmollinger)
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