Oil Prices Steady, Market Warns of Oversupply and US Sanctions
World oil prices held steady at the start of the week, as market participants weighed concerns about oversupply and the impact of new US sanctions on Russia. Brent oil traded slightly above $63 per barrel after falling for two consecutive weeks, while WTI was below $60 per barrel. Concerns are growing that global production could outstrip demand, especially ahead of the release of market reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) this week.
US sanctions against Russian energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil are also a major market concern. These measures were taken to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. However, Hungary, which relies heavily on Russian energy supplies, was granted an exemption after talks with Washington. In the past six weeks, oil prices have fallen in five of those weeks, as concerns about oversupply continue to loom over the market.
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, are known to have begun easing production curbs ahead of a planned pause in output increases next quarter. At the same time, producers outside the group, such as the United States, have also continued to increase production, further fueling concerns about a supply glut in the global market.
Ahead of a series of key data releases, investors are awaiting the monthly reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday, as well as the weekly US crude stockpiles report from the Energy Information Administration on Thursday. In early Asian trading on Monday, Brent crude for January delivery rose 0.2% to $63.76 per barrel, while WTI for December delivery gained 0.3% to $59.91 per barrel. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
