Oil & Gas
Crude oil prices rise 2% and Brent is above $78 a barrel - (Update)
Irene Jerry
Crude oil prices rose by about 2%, at the end of trading on Wednesday May 24 (2023), to continue to reap gains for the third consecutive session, amid fears of a supply shortage.
This comes after the decline in US oil stocks and fuel supplies, and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman warned speculators of the possibility of further cuts in OPEC + production.
Crude oil prices today
At the end of the session, futures contracts for Brent benchmark crude - delivery in July 2023 - rose by about 2%, to reach $ 78.36 a barrel.
And futures contracts for US West Texas Intermediate crude - delivery July 2023 - rose by 2%, to record $ 74.34 a barrel, according to what was seen by the specialized energy platform.
Crude oil prices ended their trading yesterday, Tuesday, May 23, with an increase of more than 1%, for the second day in a row, supported by investors' expectations of constraining the market, in light of the seasonal increase in demand for gasoline.
Warnings of the Saudi Energy Minister
“Crude oil prices are starting to trend higher after the Saudi threat to short sellers,” said Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA, adding that Saudi Arabia will likely do “whatever it takes to defend prices.”
Concerns about supply pressures escalated after Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman warned oil speculators, days before a scheduled meeting of the OPEC+ alliance to decide on future oil policy.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, in his speech during the Qatar Economic Forum, yesterday, Tuesday: "The speculators - as is the case in any market - will remain. I constantly inform them that they will suffer. They suffered in April. I do not have to reveal my papers; but I will only tell them Beware."
Some investors took this as a sign that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, known as the OPEC+ alliance , may consider further production cuts at the June 4 meeting.
CMC Markets analyst, Tina Teng, said that crude oil prices jumped amid speculation that the OPEC + alliance may cut production further to maintain price stability, according to Reuters .
US oil stocks
Crude oil prices were supported by the drop in US oil inventories by around 12.5 million barrels over the past week.
Gasoline stocks also decreased by about 2.1 million barrels, and distillate stocks fell by about 0.6 million barrels, according to data seen by the specialized energy platform.
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