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The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $31.61 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $31.65 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 CNBC reports that crude oil futures eased on Friday, trimming some of the week’s gains, as ballooning stocks and an uncertain production outlook stalled the market’s recent rise.
Brent futures fell 9 cents to $36.98 a barrel as of 0939 GMT, after settling 14 cents higher in the previous session. The crude benchmark is set to end the week with a gain of more than 5 per cent.
U.S. crude futures slipped 2 cents to $34.55 a barrel, having settled down 9 cents in the previous session.
While U.S. crude output fell for a sixth straight week to 9.08 million barrels a day, inventories rose to a new record of 517.98 million barrels last week, according to the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration.
Cuts in U.S. production are providing price support, but investors are also waiting for U.S. economic data later on Friday to give further direction.
“A lot of traders are keeping their powder dry in front of non-farm payroll data – it’s the No.1 (indicator) in terms of crude consumers,” said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney’s OptionsXpress.
“Investors are a little more confident we’ve seen a bottom in oil (prices),” he added. Le Brun is forecasting oil prices will hover around $40 by the middle of this year.
Source: http://classfmonline.com/1.8750563