By Adedapo Adesanya
At the international market on Thursday, July 26, 2019, prices of crude oil increased, fueled majorly by the current political tensions in the global political, especially by the United Kingdom,, United States, Iran, China and others.
These situations have continued to push the price of the prized commodity northwards. For example, the Brent Crude saw a 29 percent equivalent of 18 Cents change to trade at a strong $63 per barrel.
A look at another brand of the black gold, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude, saw a marginally rise in price, 0.09 percent or 0.05 Cent, to trade at $56 per barrel yesterday.
The OPEC Basket also shared in this bountiful advantage as it gained a 66 Cents equal to a 1.03 percent increase to exchange at almost $65 per barrel.
However, for the Nigerian trifecta of Bonny Light, Brass River, and Qua Iboe, it was a case of depletion as all three dropped by 0.36 percent, 0.98 percent, and 0.98 percent respectively.
Notably, oil prices rose after release of weekly crude data showing a 10.8 million barrel drawdown. The news that the US will be sending a team to reopen trade talks with China next week had already pushed crude higher.
The prolonged trade war between the US and China has been a major factor putting downward pressure on global growth and signs of a possible agreement are positive for oil. Energy demand has been forecasted lower by think-tanks if the two largest economies don’t reach an agreement on trade.
However, concerns about Middle East tensions are keeping oil prices supported as Iran has warned about the presence of naval ships out of the Persian Gulf.
Dipo Olowookere