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The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $42.02 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $41.38 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
Meanwhile BBC reports that oil prices hit their highest levels of the year on Friday, driven up by lower US production and a weak dollar.
Both US and Brent crude prices hit 2016 peaks, trading as high as $46.27 and $48.30 a barrel respectively.
US domestic crude production has continued to fall in recent months, easing concerns about oversupply.
Meantime the dollar has lost almost 2% of its value against other global currencies over the past week.
A weaker US dollar typically contributes to a rise in oil prices, because oil is priced in dollars. When the dollar weakens against other currencies, oil becomes cheaper to buy, pushing up demand.
Global production
However, the latest rise in oil prices may be limited by a future increase in Middle East production, according to a note released by Deutsche Bank.
Iraq and the UAE are likely to raise production after maintenance issues are resolved, Deutsche indicated, and Saudi Arabia may also increase production significantly.
“A sustainable rise in Opec production may be just around the corner, and… the rally may pause,” Deutsche said.
But this may be tempered by events in Latin America, where Venezuela is struggling to maintain its own crude output, according to a report from Eurasia Group.
The organisation reported that low oil prices over the past two years have meant Venezuela’s government is running out of cash to keep its state-owned oil pumps operational.
Source: http://classfmonline.com/1.9007132