Oil prices declining after 3 days of growth

Global oil prices on April 30 morning are falling after three trading sessions of the increase in prices on expectations for demand and strong statistics, according to trading data, Report informs referring to Prime agency.

As of 8:57 (GMT+4), the price of July futures for North Sea Brent oil blend decreased by 0.54 percent - to $67.68 per barrel, while the price of June futures for this oil grade dropped by 0.51 percent to $68.21. The cost of June futures for WTI oil fell by 0.68 percent to $64.57 per barrel.

Oil was rising in price over the previous three days, by an average of about 3.5-4.5 percent. Oil prices were supported by expectations for oil demand, although the pandemic continues to pose uncertainty for the oil market.

Earlier, the OPEC+ ministerial monitoring committee, following the meeting, recommended that the alliance maintain the current terms of the agreement on limiting oil production for May-July. In addition, the media reported that the OPEC+ technical committee raised its forecast for growth in global oil demand to 6 million barrels per day on average in 2021 from a March estimate of 5.6 million barrels.

US commercial reserves and production statistics for the week ended April 23, released on April 28, also supported oil prices. According to the US Energy Department, oil reserves grew weaker than expected - by 0.1 million barrels instead of 0.6 million barrels, while production decreased by 100,000 barrels, to 10.9 million barrels per day.

“This week saw an avalanche of strong data and reassuring developments in the US, but that may have buried the rising global risk of more transmissible Covid variants, particularly the one that has wreaked havoc in India,” said Vandana Hari, the founder of energy consultant Vanda Insights in Singapore. “At six-week highs, crude was ripe for a breather.”