Oil prices are still rising in the middle of the week with a barrel of Brent flirting with 90 dollars in London…
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(Boursier.com) — Oil prices are still rising this mid-week with a barrel of Brent flirting with $90 in London. Unsurprisingly, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of OPEC and its allies recommended leaving the cartel’s production policy unchanged at the end of its meeting on Wednesday.
Reductions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (-2.2 million barrels), combined with surprisingly resilient fuel demand, helped push crude prices to nearly $90 per barrel , the highest level since the end of 2023. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is also supporting prices.
By keeping restrictions in place, OPEC+ appears set to ensure that global oil markets remain slightly in deficit during the second quarter, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris. This deficit could push oil prices towards $100 per barrel, JPMorgan Chase & Co warned yesterday. This decision could also complicate the work of major central banks seeking to ease their monetary policy after having fought hard against galloping inflation. On the other hand, it should satisfy Saudi Arabia which needs a high crude oil price to fill its coffers.
The entire OPEC+ alliance, made up of 22 countries, will meet in early June at its headquarters in Vienna to decide whether to continue supply cuts in the second half of the year.
A barrel of Brent from the North Sea (June maturity) advances 0.9% to $89.75 in London while WTI (May contract) gains 1% to $86 on the Nymex.
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