US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in September climbed 33 cents to $49.12 a barrel compared with Wednesday’s close, while Brent North Sea crude for September gained 65 cents to $54.03 a barrel in London afternoon trade.
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The Russian electric power officiant was also keeping up with on Thursday on the top experts beginning with the Organisation of the petroleum exporting countries as lower oil charges ongoing to thump Russia’s economic system and the forex.
Al-Badri, meanwhile, said OPEC did not plan to cut production despite sliding oil prices which have slumped 50% to around $50 a barrel in the past year.
OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri said the organization does not expect prices to fall any lower as demand picks up in 2016 and continues to grow through the end of the decade.
OPEC members produced around 31.25 million barrels per day in the second quarter, about 3 million more than daily demand, a Reuters survey showed this week.
China’s state planner said on Friday a slowing economy must not be allowed to morph into social risks as the volatile Chinese stock market fell again. US crude stockpiles are nearly 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average, while exports from southern Iraq rose to a record this month.
Could the Strong Dollar and Rig Count Extend Oil’s Bear Market?
Some OPEC members have therefore called in vain for a drop in the collective production ceiling to send a signal to the market: the current prices are not sufficient.
“Although we are seeing prices adjusting downwards, this likely stems from some adjustments of a strong dollar and adjustments to trading positions as oil finds a bottom”, said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Singapore’s Phillip Futures, in a note on Friday. “We are not ready to reduce our production”, Badri said after a meeting in Moscow with Russia’s energy minister.
Oil headed for its biggest monthly drop this year amid speculation a global supply glut that drove prices into a bear market will persist.
Analysts said the statement shows OPEC is determined to defend its market share as it fends off competition from US shale oil. Prices have lost more than 20 per cent from their closing peak this year on June 10, meeting a common definition of a bear market.
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US crude inventories have been bolstered by the fastest pace of production in more than three decades.
