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Oil prices jump following Saudi minister’s remarks

19 June 2017 16:30 (UTC+04:00)
Oil prices jump following Saudi minister’s remarks

By Sara Israfilbayova

Crude prices are rising in the world market after the optimistic remarks made by Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih.

The minister said the oil market is heading in the right direction but still needs time to rebalance, Reuters reported.

The price for August futures of Brent crude oil has increased by 0.06 percent to $47.40 per barrel, meanwhile, the price for July futures of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has grown by 0.04 percent and stood at $44.76 per barrel.

"Current expectations indicate the market will rebalance in the fourth quarter of this year, taking into account an increase in shale oil production," he said.

Asked about the recent drop in oil prices, Falih said: "Markets determine prices but are themselves driven by unpredictable variables beyond the control of producing nations."

Compliance in April and May with the OPEC-led output deal was above 100 percent, according to the Minister.

Falih also said he expects Libya's production to return to normal levels.

OPEC members Libya and Nigeria were exempted from the supply cuts because unrest had curbed their output.

He said production levels in Libya and Nigeria were within the range determined when OPEC, in last September in Algeria, decided to cut output for the first time since 2008.

OPEC's output rose by 336,000 bpd in May to 32.14 million barrel per day, led by a rebound in Nigeria and Libya, the organization said previously in its monthly report.

On November 30, 2016 OPEC members agreed to remove 1.2m barrels a day from global oil production.

Non-OPEC countries such as Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan, and South Sudan decided to cut output by 600,000 barrels per day, beginning from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and non-members decided to extend cuts in oil output on May 25, by nine months to March 2018.

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