The price of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) opened this Monday with a drop of 3.96% and stood at US$70.89 a barrel, after Saudi Arabia announced yesterday a cut in crude oil prices for its Asian clients .
At 9:01 a.m. local time (14:01 GMT), WTI futures contracts for delivery in February were down US$2.92 compared to the close of the previous session.
Saudi Arabia’s price cut and an increase in production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) drove prices lower, offsetting the effects of uncertainty in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, investors are awaiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tour to the Middle East, focused on preventing the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from spreading regionally.
Last week, the US Government reported a sharp drop in its commercial crude oil reserves, of 5.5 million barrels, but some analysts indicated that the figure largely reflects disruptions in the Red Sea.
In fact, gasoline stocks rose by 10.9 million barrels, their biggest weekly rise in more than 30 years, and distillate stocks rose by 10.1 million, contributing to doubts about demand.
All in all, Texas managed to close the first week of the year with a cumulative increase of more than 3%, driven mainly by tension in the Middle East.
Source: Larepublica
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