Global oil prices continued to consolidate their gains by more than 4% at the end of the day, Tuesday, February 7 (2023), supported by optimism about demand in China.
Crude prices also received support from concerns about the closure of a major export terminal in Turkey after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake that caused severe damage.
Oil prices closed last week, on Friday, February 3, with losses of 3%, as the benchmark Brent crude fell below $80 a barrel, according to Reuters.
Prices are rising in light of signs of a recovery in demand in China with the increase in air and transport traffic, at a time when Beijing ended most of the restrictions imposed in the face of the Corona pandemic, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
The global price of a barrel of oil today
At the end of the session, Brent crude futures (delivery April 2023) rose 3.3%, to $83.69 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate futures (delivery March 2023) rose 4.1% to $77.14 a barrel, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
It is noteworthy that the global price of a barrel of oil opened its trading yesterday at a high, jumping above 80 dollars a barrel, before going through turbulent dealings, in which it fell more than once, but closed on a rise.
Crude oil price analysis
Edward Moya, an analyst at the “Oanda” financial markets company, said that crude oil prices are rising amid expectations that the recovery in China will take hold, in addition to the disruption of oil supplies due to the earthquake that caused great destruction in Turkey.
He pointed to the suspension of operations in the Turkish oil port of Ceyhan, which has a capacity of one million barrels per day, in addition to the intention to close the “BTC” port, which exports Azerbaijani oil to international markets, until February 8, according to what was seen by the specialized energy platform.
In turn, the chief commodity analyst at the Australian ANZ Bank pointed out to the closure of Phase 535 of the Johan Sverdrup oil field in the Norwegian North Sea region, which contributes to the movement of prices upwards.
For its part, the Energy Information Administration raised its forecasts for oil demand and supply in 2023, and strengthened its price estimates.
Watch US interest rates
Analysts said that oil markets are watching US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s rhetoric, as interest rate increases usually lead to a stronger dollar, which could make crude oil more expensive for non-US buyers.
Powell said that the US central bank will continue to raise interest rates, but indicated that inflation in the United States has begun to slow down.
For her part, Tina Ting, an analyst at CMS Markets, said that the global recovery in the price of a barrel of oil resembles cautious moves before the Federal Reserve’s speech tomorrow, especially since the Chairman of the Council may provide more evidence about the path of raising interest rates in the future.
It is noteworthy that the movement of the price of a barrel of oil globally coincides with the announcement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter in the world, to raise the selling prices of Arab Light Crude to Asian buyers for the first time in 6 months, according to what was seen by the specialized energy platform.
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