Oil prices are rising on Monday after a significant decline last week.
The cost of February futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:25 a.m. is $72.2 per barrel, which is $0.36 (0.5%) higher than at the close of the previous trading. On Friday, these contracts fell by $0.94 (1.3%) to $71.84 per barrel.
January futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have risen in price by this time by $0.37 (0.54%) to $68.37 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, the value of these contracts decreased by $0.72 (1.1%) to $68 per barrel.
Last week, Brent fell by 3%, WTI – by 4.6%.
On Monday, the market was supported by positive statistics from China published last weekend.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in China’s manufacturing industry increased to 50.3 points in November from 50.1 points a month earlier, according to the country’s State Statistical Office (SSO). Thus, the indicator reached a seven-month high. A PMI reading above 50 points indicates an increase in activity in the industrial sector, while a reading below 50 points indicates a decline. The indicator has been above this level for two months.
Traders’ attention is now focused on the OPEC+ Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting and the ministerial meeting, which were postponed from December 1 to December 5. The reason for the postponement was the participation of several ministers in the Kuwaiti summit.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the key OPEC+ countries have begun discussions about a possible further postponement of the oil production increase scheduled for January. According to the agency, the countries doubt that the market situation allows them to increase production in January and may postpone these plans for several months.
