*Mohammed Barkindo.
OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — International Brent climbed to $43.99 on Thursday upon hopes the Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC and its cut partners will agree to a fresh cut, and suspend further market supply increase.
In barely four days, Brent traded at almost $44 per barrel as at the time of filing this report, compared to $39/barrel prior to this week’s trading session.
OPEC daily basket price stood at $43.42 a barrel Wednesday compared with $41.72 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate, WTI)futures were priced at $41.53 a barrel.
Increasing cases of COVID-19 had dropped demand, damping prices amidst glut at the international market.
Algeria’s Energy Minister had on Wednesday said OPEC+ would most likely consider extending current production cuts of 7.7 million (BPD) into 2021, or deepen them more if the case arises.
OPEC+ is expected to meet at the end of November to set policy in a cut agreement that kick started in 2015.
The group’s meeting in October ended with an assurance that oil prices would not plunge steeply again when it meets at the end of November.
“I want to assure you that the OPEC, non-OPEC partnership will continue to do what it knows best, by ensuring that we don’t relapse into this almost historic plunge that we saw,” Mohammad Barkindo had said.
OPEC in its newly-released Monthly Oil Market Report, MOMR for November, said investor optimism on signs of progress over the potential for more US fiscal relief that could provide a boost to the economy and oil demand also added support to the oil market.
The market also buoyed by the positive performances in overall conformity levels for participating OPEC and non-OPEC countries of the Declaration of Cooperation, DoC which reached 102% in September.
