Brent Crude Oil Gains Over 2% to Hit $62 Wednesday

By Adedapo Adesanya 

The International benchmark future, Brent Crude, recovered consecutive two day losses to rise more than 2 percent as oil prices that have been pressured by the US-China trade dispute bounced back.

From the beginning of the week, oil prices shed most of last week gains to suffer losses equivalent to over 2 percent.

As at the time of this report, Business Post observed that the future was trading up 2.43 percent or $1.48 to trade at $62.39 per barrel. The US Benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading much higher by a solid 3.04 percent equivalent to $1.68 at $57.03 per barrel.

This good news at the oil market on Wednesday evening followed a smaller-than-expected rise in the United States crude oil inventories by 1.4 million according to a Energy Information Administration (EIA) report released yesterday.

The rise in inventories to November was slightly lower than the 1.6 million-barrel rise expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts.

On its own part, the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a climb of roughly 6 million barrels.

Also giving a positive outlook for oil prices was tensions in the Middle East that arose when Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they intercepted a Saudi warplane.

Iran is also experiencing fuel hikes which it has blamed on foreign governments following the attack on Saudi Aramco fields in September that drove oil prices over 20 percent.

On the supply side with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia through President Vladimir Putin said the OPEC+ alliance would continue to cooperate with OPEC on reducing output with the expected glut in 2020.

The cartel and its members are expected to meet on December 5 – 6 in the Austrian capital, Vienna and could consider an even deeper cut.

A report by Business Post had shown that at last December’s meeting of OPEC and its allies, the group agreed to cut daily production by 1.2 million barrels and it is expected to run through March 2020, the meeting will decide the steps to take.