The nation is supporting a meeting between the OPEC members and Russian Federation to discuss actions that can have an impact on the oil prices that is reeling under a supply glut. A weaker dollar makes oil, which is traded in dollars, cheaper for foreign buyers. Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino is due to travel to Saudi Arabia, continuing his tour of producers in a bid to encourage cooperation.
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The global market likely won’t pull away from the supply side until at least 2017 as crude oil lingers in storage, Adam Sieminski, the head of the EIA told U.S. lawmakers last month. From 2010 to early 2014, oil prices were fairly steady at close to $100 per barrel.
At around 0545 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in March was seven cents or 0.22 percent higher at $31.79, while Brent crude for April was six cents or 0.17 percent down at $34.40.
The oil tanker Tofteviken is set to sail from the United Kingdom this month carrying the first shipment of North Sea Ekofisk crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast in five years.
Many players in the market continue to hope for an emergency OPEC meeting before the scheduled June gathering.
Investors were also weighing a string of conflicting indicators on Friday as the dollar.DXY recovered some of the ground lost over the past two days while investors continued to fret about growing oversupply, with USA inventories hitting record highs last week amid concerns about a slowing global economy.
“I’m very happy to meet and consult with my colleague from Venezuela”, Al-Naimi said in the statement.
“We’re getting the rally in crude oil from the pounding that the dollar is taking”, said Robert Yawger, senior vice president of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA.
Several factors have played a part in pushing USA crude oil prices below $30 per barrel (b), including high inventory levels of crude oil, uncertainty about global economic growth, volatility in equity and nonenergy commodity markets, and the potential for additional crude oil supply to enter the market. The best response of governments to the upcoming recession and to declining oil prices is to do nothing and allow market forces to bring things back to normal.
OPEC delegates, however, have repeatedly denied such speculation and few analysts see Saudi Arabia changing its output policy.
“Rebalancing will take longer, keeping prices low…” The Russian announcement, plus rumors among traders of what Kleinman calls a mythical agreement between Russia and Saudia Arabia, pushed oil prices up 20 percent from their late January lows.
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Schlumberger Limited. (NYSE:SLB) reported a net loss of $1.02 billion in the fourth quarter fiscal year 2015 (4QFY15), after charging $2.14 billion in restructuring and impairment charges.
