Benchmark crude oil is little changed in price on Wednesday morning after falling to lows since early July in the previous session.
The price of February futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange by 7:10 a.m. is $77.20 per barrel, which corresponds to the level at the close of the previous session. The day before, these contracts fell in price by $0.83 (1.1%) to $77.2 per barrel.
Quotations for January futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by this time fell by 6 cents to $72.26 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, they fell by $0.72 (1%) to $72.32 per barrel.
Both brands ended trading on Tuesday at their lowest levels since July 6.
Market participants and analysts have expressed doubts as to whether OPEC+ countries will comply with the terms of a voluntary 2.2 million barrels per day oil production cut in the first quarter of 2024.
“Last week’s OPEC+ decision was a clear disappointment, both because of the less-than-impressive amount of additional cuts and because of their voluntary nature,” said Tyler Ritchie, editor of Sevens Report Research.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman later noted that production restrictions could be extended if necessary.
“The market did not believe him, because the bears want clearer statements from OPEC+ on long-term plans and assurances that the group will do everything necessary to keep oil prices at least $80 per barrel.”
In addition, investors are evaluating signals about changes in energy reserves in the United States. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), in the week to December 1, oil reserves in the United States increased by 594 thousand barrels.
Official data from the US Department of Energy will be published at 17:30 on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights expect, on average, that these data will indicate a decrease in oil reserves by 4.1 million barrels, as well as an increase in gasoline and distillate stocks by 800 thousand barrels.
