The price of March futures on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $86.28 per barrel by 7:10 a.m., down $0.38 (0.44%) from the close of the previous session. At the close of trading last Friday those contracts fell by $0.81 (0.9%) to $86.66 per barrel.
The price of WTI futures for March at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $79.31 per barrel by that time, which is $0.37 (0.46%) below the final value of the previous session. The contract fell by $1.33 (1.6%) to $79.68 per barrel at the end of last session.
Brent was down 1.1% and WTI, down 2.4% at the end of last week.
“Oil traders are locking in profits at the end of the month and taking a wait-and-see attitude ahead of OPEC+ and Federal Reserve meetings, the outcome of which will be known on February 1, and ahead of the entry into force of the EU ban on the import of Russian oil products on February 5,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group.
Meanwhile, the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. fell four units to 609 last week, oil services company Baker Hughes said. The number of gas rigs increased by the same number to 160.
Oil prices rose on Friday on optimism about demand prospects thanks to signals of increased energy consumption in China and data on a weaker-than-expected slowdown in U.S. GDP growth.
Trafigura Group, one of the biggest commodity traders in the world, sees “great upside” for the oil market, noting the release of pent-up demand following the lifting of quarantine restrictions in China.
The price of March futures for Brent on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $87.83 a barrel by 7:15 a.m. Friday, up $0.36 (0.41%) from the previous session’s close. Those contracts rose $1.35 (1.6%) to $87.47 a barrel at the close of trading on Thursday.
The price of WTI futures for March increased by $0.33 (0.41%) to $81.34 per barrel at electronic auctions of New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). By the close of previous trading the cost of those contracts rose by $0.86 (1.1%) to $81.01 a barrel.
U.S. statistics released Thursday showed that the U.S. economy remains accommodative despite a significant tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed).
According to preliminary data from the Commerce Department, fourth-quarter GDP rose 2.9 percent on an annualized basis after climbing 3.2 percent in the previous quarter. The consensus analyst forecast cited by Trading Economics suggested that economic growth had weakened to 2.6%.
Oil prices are steadily rising in trading on Thursday after slight fluctuations the previous day, investors are evaluating the prospects for demand.
The opening of the Chinese economy gives the market reason to be optimistic about the recovery in consumption this year, writes Trading Economics.
The cost of March futures for Brent at London’s ICE Futures Exchange was $86.73 a barrel by 12:54 p.m., $0.61 (0.71%) above the index at the close of the previous session.
The price of WTI futures for March crude oil on the electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) makes $80.76 per barrel by that time, which is $0.61 (0.76%) higher than the final value of the previous session.
In addition, traders continue to assess data on fuel reserves in the U.S.
The country’s commercial oil reserves rose 533,000 barrels last week, according to a weekly report released by the Energy Department the day before. Growth in reserves was recorded for the fifth week in a row.
Gasoline inventories increased by 1.76 million barrels while distillates decreased by 507,000 barrels.
The experts interviewed by Bloomberg expected a 1.5 barrel growth of oil reserves, an increase of gasoline reserves by 1.5 million barrels and a 1.6 million barrel decline of distillate reserves.
Oil prices are declining slightly in trading on Tuesday, Brent remains near its highest since November last year, reached the day before.
The price of March futures for Brent at London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $88.14 a barrel by 12:49 p.m., down $0.05 (0.06%) from the close of the previous session.
The price of WTI futures for March at the electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $81.61 a barrel by that time, which is 1 cent lower than the final value of the previous session.
Oil prices were falling Monday amid low activity in the Asian session due to the long weekend in China in observance of the New Year according to the lunar calendar.
Hong Kong and Singapore markets are also closed.
The price of March futures for Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $87.35 per barrel by 7:15 a.m. Monday, up $0.28 (0.32%) from the close of the previous session. Those contracts rose $1.47 (1.7%) to $87.63 a barrel at the close of trading on Friday.
The price of WTI futures for March crude oil at electronic trades of NYMEX fell by that time by $0.23 (0.28%) to $81.41 per barrel. By closing of the previous session the cost of these contracts grew by $1.03 (1.3%) to $81.64 per barrel.
Brent gained 2.8% and WTI gained 1.8%.
Traders continue to assess the prospects for oil demand in China after the lifting of quarantine restrictions. During the holidays, which will last until the end of this week, many people travel, which should cause a significant increase in demand for fuel, and after the weekend experts expect an increase in industrial activity in China, said Bloomberg.
In addition, the market remains focused on the situation in Russia after the entry into force of the embargo on oil supplies from the country and the introduction by the G7 countries of a price ceiling in response to a full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the total volume of oil exports from Russia in December fell by 2.5% compared to November, to 7.8 million bpd, as crude supplies to the EU decreased.
Russian oil exports fell 6 percent last month to 4.7 million bpd, the lowest level last year. At the same time, petroleum product sales rose 3.3 percent to 3.1 million bpd.
According to the IEA forecast, by the end of the first quarter, Russian oil production will be about 1.6 mln bpd lower than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Oil prices are rising in trading on Wednesday amid continuing hopes for a rebound in demand from China after the removal of anti-coveting restrictions.
The cost of March futures on London’s ICE Futures Exchange is $86.56 per barrel by 7:13 a.m. (EET), which is $0.64 (0.74%) above the previous session’s closing price. At the close of trading on Tuesday those contracts grew by $1.46 (1.73%) to $85.92 per barrel.
The price of WTI futures for February at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $80.83 per barrel by that time, which is $0.65 (0.81%) above the final value of the previous session. At the end of trading on Tuesday the contract grew by $0.32 (0.4%) up to $80.18 per barrel.
China’s Vice Premier Liu He announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that China was open for global cooperation after three years of isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the peak of the coronavirus infection in the country and the economic recovery came earlier than the government expected.
China’s economy reportedly expanded by 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, according to data from the State Statistics Office (SSO). Thus, the growth rate slowed significantly from 3.9% in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the figure exceeded analysts’ expectations, who on average predicted a 1.8% increase in Chinese GDP in October-December, Trading Economics reported.
OPEC improved its estimate of global oil demand in the first quarter of 2023 by 160,000 bpd from its previous forecast to 101.04 million bpd, the cartel’s monthly report showed.
“Slight upward adjustments were made due to an expected improvement in China’s economic performance amid its re-emerging from COVID-19 restrictions, while other regions are expected to see slight declines due to economic problems that are likely to affect oil demand,” the report said.
Meanwhile, forecasts for 2022 and 2023 remained unchanged at 99.55 million bpd and 101.77 million bpd, respectively.
Traders are now waiting for the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) monthly survey, which will be released Wednesday.
