Asian Imports Rise, Global Oil Prices Strengthen
World oil prices rose in trading on Tuesday (September 2nd) afternoon, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Brent crude rose 0.3% to US$68.48 per barrel, while WTI jumped 0.5% to US$64.95 per barrel. The price increases were triggered by a Ukrainian drone attack that disabled Russian oil processing facilities, which account for approximately 17%, or 1.1 million barrels per day, of national capacity. This situation has fueled concerns about global supply disruptions amid an already vulnerable energy market.
Meanwhile, the latest data shows that Asian crude oil imports surged in August to an average of 27.18 million barrels per day, up from 24.91 million barrels in July and higher than the same period last year.
However, this increase was largely driven by previously low oil prices and additional supply from OPEC+, particularly Saudi Arabia and Russia. This means that the surge in imports does not reflect a sustained increase in demand. Investors are now awaiting the OPEC+ meeting on September 7 to gain a clearer picture of the direction of global oil production and prices.
Source: Newsmaker.id
