World oil prices on Feb. 16 afternoon showed varying dynamics - North Sea Brent is being adjusted after active growth, and American WTI continues to rise in price against the background of a decrease in production and processing of crude in Texas, according to trading data, Report informs, referring to Prime agency.
As of 13:45 (GMT+4), the price of April futures for North Sea Brent crude oil blend decreased by 0.28 percent, to $63.12 per barrel, March futures for WTI grew by 0.49 percent to $59.75 per barrel.
WTI price continues to be positive on the news from the US. Cold weather in the country forced some of its biggest refineries, particularly in Texas, to suspend operations. Bloomberg agency on Feb. 16 night announced the temporary shutdown of the refineries of Motiva and Exxon Mobil. France’s Total has cut oil refining to a minimum and closed a refinery at its plant in Port Arthur, Texas. Besides, on Feb. 15, the agency reported a drop in production in Texas by 1 million barrels per day.
As for Brent, its prices went down during the day, which can be called adjustment after three trading sessions of continuous growth. Since the beginning of the month, there has been an active rise in oil prices, which is associated with optimistic sentiments regarding the recovery of the global economy after the coronavirus pandemic. The hopes for a worldwide rollout of vaccinations are at the core of these expectations.
Besides, Seema Shah, Chief Strategist at Principal Global Investors in London, whose opinion is quoted by Bloomberg, notes that the risk sentiment in the market is still supported by the continuation of the soft monetary policy of the global central banks, as well as the expectations of financial state support for the economy.