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The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $34.71 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $33.93 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 oil prices edged up early on Friday, lifted by firm economic indicators from the United States and Germany which could support fuel demand, but analysts warned that crude markets were threatened by another downturn because of ongoing oversupply.
Front month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $37.64 per barrel at 0040 GMT, up 38 cents from their last close.
International Brent futures were up 24 cents at $39.67 a barrel.
Traders said there was some bullish sentiment in oil markets early on Friday following statements by the U.S. Federal Reserve that the world’s biggest economy was on the path of more economic growth.
In Europe, rating agency Moody’s said that Germany – the continent’s biggest economy – expected a slight acceleration of its growth to 1.8 percent, benefiting from robust domestic demand.
Despite encouraging reports from two of the world’s biggest economies, analysts warned that oil prices could fall again soon as there were few signs that a global overhang in production of at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) would be addressed soon.
“Investors are lacking confidence about improved U.S. seasonal demand, as a decline in U.S. crude stockpiles (reported earlier this week) was mainly attributable to weaker imports and improved refinery utilization,” ANZ bank said.
Source: http://classfmonline.com/1.8889186
