Oil prices rose on Thursday thanks to a possible boom in the Sino-American trade war and OPEC-led efforts to limit oil production in the market, although trading was calm as many markets were closed due to holidays.
The price of Brent crude increased by 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 67.36 dollars a barrel, while the price of the American West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased by 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, to reach 61.31 dollars per barrel.
It seems, according to analysts, that oil prices still maintain their strength at the end of the year, supported by a combination of final progress in the trade deal between the United States of America and China, the OPEC / OPEC + agreement, and a slowdown in shale activity. Consequently, all of this indicates a solid performance expected for oil prices in the first quarter of 2020, and this is contrary to what was previously reported.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign the so-called first-stage agreement agreed earlier this month to end their trade dispute. The 17-month trade war has hit global economic growth and levels of demand for oil in the world, and reduced demand has reduced supplies by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, which have contributed less effectively to support the market.
The newly formed group, called OPEC+, agreed last November to expand and deepen production cuts that would take up to 2,100,000 bpd from supply to the market or about 2 percent of global demand.
US producers, not a party to the OPEC+ agreement, have pumped record quantities of oil, especially shale crude. Still, many expect growth in production from the United States to slow down.
However, more supplies will emerge from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait who agreed earlier this week to end their dispute over their neutral region, which could provide up to 500,000 barrels per day of oil, or about 0.5 percent of global demand.
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