Crude-oil prices were lower in early Asian trade Friday as concerns about an unrelenting glut and low expectation for a collective supply cut kept traders in a bearish mood.
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At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in March was trading higher by Rs 81 or 3.68 per cent at Rs 2,283 per barrel with a business turnover of 6,936 lots. Inventories for all of the United States are at all-time peaks above 507 million barrels.
The American oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate increased to a daily high of $33.47 per barrel after it opened the day at $32.30.
Oil futures closed higher Thursday following an afternoon surge on reports of a March meeting between OPEC members and Russian Federation to discuss production.
“This looks technical”, said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in NY.
Gasoline stocks also showed a surprise decline of 22 million barrels, indicating stronger demand.
Crude prices dipped on Thursday as strong USA gasoline demand failed to counter downward pressure from global overproduction that has left storage facilities swelling with unsold oil.
The group said that such deal could have little impact on the oil market as proposed while there remains a high uncertainty that it even materialises.
However, Iran refused to go along, as it is seeking to ramp up production levels depressed for years by economic sanctions that were lifted last month.
“Saudi Arabia has clearly stated that it has no intention of cutting output”.
“We are very confident that we will continue to see a double digit growth in civil aviation industry in China”, said Meng Fanqiu, chief executive of Singapore-listed China Aviation Oil during a briefing late on Thursday, adding that this growth would be driven by the construction of new airports and the introduction of new worldwide routes to and from China. Iranian minister Bijan Zanganeh said upon the end of the talks his country would support any initiative aiming to push oil prices up.
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Stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub for USA crude deliveries rose by more than 503,000 barrels to reach above 67.5 million barrels between February 19 and February 24, market intelligence provider Genscape reported, traders who saw the data said.
