Oil ticks higher ahead of OPEC+ policy decision as Black Sea storm disrupts exports; Brent at $82/bbl
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, November 29, as investors turned their attention to the output policy decision by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), while supply disruption caused by a storm in the Black Sea combined with lower US inventories to drive buying.
Brent crude futures were up 61 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $82.29 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 75 cents, or 1 per cent, at $77.16 a barrel, according to news agency Reuters. Both benchmarks rose about 2 per cent on Tuesday as the market anticipated that OPEC would extend or deepen supply cuts.
Back home, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil futures due for a December 18 expiry, was last trading higher by 0.55 per cent at ₹6,448 per bbl, having swung between ₹6,323 and ₹6,500 per bbl during the session so far, against a previous close of ₹6,413 per barrel.
What’s driving crude oil prices?
-OPEC on Wednesday continued talks, which sources had described as difficult. A meeting to decide on next year’s output policy on Thursday was, however, expected to go ahead on schedule, according to Reuters.
-A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhstan and Russia, according to state officials and port agent data, raising the prospect of short-term supply tightness.
-Kazakhstan’s largest oilfields are cutting combined daily oil output by 56 per cent from November 27, said the Kazakh energy ministry. The oil market also found support from a drop in US crude inventories, which fell by 817,000 barrels last week, according to Reuters.
-Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Department data showed the US economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, but momentum appears to have since waned as higher borrowing costs curb hiring and spending.
-The data showed gross domestic product increased at a 5.2 per cent annualised rate last quarter, revised up from the previously reported 4.9 per cent pace, its fastest pace of expansion since the fourth quarter of 2021.
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Updated: 29 Nov 2023, 10:32 PM IST
