The price of oil closed higher last Friday, the 26th, with Brent (the benchmark for Angolan exports) rising by 1.65 dollars, closing at 100.99 dollars a barrel. US WTI crude oil futures rose 54 cents to trade at $93.06 a barrel. For the week, Brent gained 4.4 percent, while WTI rose 2.5 percent.
The rally was driven by signals from Saudi Arabia that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could cut output, but trading was volatile as investors digested the scenario and ultimately ignored warnings from the head of the US Federal Reserve on economic difficulties in sight.
Futures markets
WTI crude for October ended up 0.58 percent at about 52 cents at 93.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Ex-change (Nymex), and Brent for November advanced 0.56 percent (USD 0.55), at US$99.01 a barrel, on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). For the week, WTI registered a gain of 2.90 percent and Brent, 2.37 percent. The UAE has become the latest OPEC+ member to claim that it is in line with Saudi Arabia’s thinking on oil markets. A week ago (last Monday), Saudi Arabia signaled the possibility of production cuts to compensate for the return of Iranian barrels to oil markets if Tehran wins a nuclear deal with the West. “The impression remains that Saudi Arabia is unwilling to tolerate any price drop below $90. Speculators can see this as an invitation to bet on further price increases without the need to fear more pronounced price drops.” Commerzbank said in a note.
