Ankara (Times Of Ocean)- Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkiye, decline in US crude, and gasoline inventories support prices. As the market weighs expectations of OPEC producers boosting production to fill the shortfall in Russian supplies, oil prices rebounded on Thursday following a sharp drop on Wednesday.
Brent crude was trading at $112.66 per barrel at 0627 GMT, up 1.4% after closing the previous session at $111.14 a barrel.
At the same time, the American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $109.25 per barrel, up 0.5% from the previous session’s close of $108.70.
United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba said his country favors an increase in oil production and will encourage OPEC to increase production levels on Wednesday.
The UAE has been a reliable and responsible supplier of energy to global markets for more than 50 years and believes that energy market stability is critical for the global economy,” Al Otaiba said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the UAE’s support for higher production before adding: “stabilize global energy markets, so that there is an abundance of energy available throughout the world.”
Despite the successive statements signaling an increase in production in an already tight market, prices fell 15% and retreated to $110 late on Wednesday, marking the biggest daily drop in nearly two years.
Prices began to recover on Thursday, ahead of a crucial tripartite meeting with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine that Turkiye is hosting to facilitate a ceasefire as the war enters its 15th day.
Prices were also supported by the decline in US commercial crude oil and gasoline inventories. According to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, the country’s commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.5% during the week ending March 4.
Stocks fell by 1.9 million barrels to 411.6 million barrels, compared with the market expectation of 833,000 barrels.
In the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by 1.4 million barrels to 244.6 million barrels.