Oil futures rose on Tuesday for the third session in a row, supported by strong demand forecasts, as OPEC ministers hailed the firmness of their deal to cut output, which aims to boost prices. Brent crude futures were priced $65.66 a barrel, a 12 cents growth, or 0.18 percent. WTI futures rose by 15 cents, or 0.24 percent, to reach $62.72 a barrel.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday that world oil demand is expected to grow over the next five years, while the supplies of OPEC producers will increase at a much slower pace.
The IEA’s comments on the increase in production came at the Sirowick conference in Houston on Monday, preceded by comments by OPEC Secretary General Mohamed Barkindo describing the deal with global producers to reduce supplies as “rock-solid”. To fill the gap between OPEC and global demand, the IEA says the United States will release a lot of its oil to meet demand, as its oil production trend rises. Moscow expects the oil market to return to equilibrium in the second half of 2018, the Russian Energy Information Agency quoted Alexei Texler, the first deputy energy minister.
The agency quoted Texler saying that Russia does not intend to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries because it does not need this in order to coordinate its actions with the oil-producing countries. He reportedly added that Russia intends to maintain its share in the oil market, despite the decline of crude reserves in Siberia.
In a separate context, Saudi Aramco cut the official selling price of its Arab light crude in shipments to Asian customers for April by 55 cents compared to the previous month, to a premium of $1.10 a barrel above the average prices offered to Oman and Dubai. The world’s largest oil exporter has also cut official selling prices for other raw materials shipped to Asia by April.
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