Oil prices rise with the expectation that OPEC + is likely to maintain Reuters production

By Florence Tan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday amid expectations that OPEC and related producers could increase production to current levels in February during a meeting later in the day as the coronavirus pandemic worries over the first half of the year. demand increases.

in March was $ 52.42 per barrel, up 62 cents or 1.2%, at 0348 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate Crude crude rose 55 cents, or 1.1%, to $ 49 in February. 07 per barrel has risen.

The larger analysis of macro-momentum, including a weaker dollar and investors recovering in the oil sector this year, could support oil prices, Energy Aspects analyst Virendra Chauhan said.

“Perhaps there is a positive sentiment from OPEC + that wants to limit supply in light of the virus sticking its ugly head in the west,” he added.

Mohammad Barkindo, secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Sunday that although demand for crude oil is expected to rise by 5.9 million barrels per day (bpd) to 95.9 million bpd this year, see the group to claim many disadvantages risks in the first half of 2021.

“We are only just beginning to emerge from a year of deep investment cuts, huge job losses and the worst destruction of the record,” he said.

Prices will end in 2020 by about 20% below the 2019 average, and are still recovering from the impact of global economic closure measures put in place to combat COVID-19, which is reducing fuel demand, although the largest producers in the world by the year agreed with record outputs.

OPEC and related producers, including Russia, a group known as OPEC +, decided at a meeting last month to increase production by 500,000 barrels per day in January, with the expectation of an increase in demand, and agreed to meet every month to review the production.

Analysts from Energy Aspects and RBC Capital said OPEC + is likely to maintain production levels from January to February.

“We think the producer group will decide to forgo further production increases for February with COVID-19 cases continuing to climb and the delayed vaccination of the vaccine,” said Helima Croft of RBC Capital.

In the United States, crude oil production remained under pressure due to weak prices and lukewarm demand, in October more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd), earlier this year, a government report showed on 1 January.