ALBAWABA – Oil prices rose $0.36 and $0.37 on the barrel of Brent futures and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Wednesday on Saudi Arabia’s surprise announcement Sunday, pledging to lower oil production by one million barrels per day, starting July.
Oil prices heavily fluctuated since Monday, between significant losses and good gains.
Brent crude futures were up 0.5 percent on Wednesday, at $76.65 a barrel, and WTI rose 0.5 percent, to $72.11.
Both benchmarks jumped more than $1 on Monday, after the Saudi announcement, then dropped significantly Tuesday, before picking up again early Wednesday.
According to Reuters, news of the output cut outweighed weak Chinese export data and rising United States fuel stocks.
However, Bloomberg reported a decline in oil prices, mainly in the Asia markets, and specifically in future contracts for July and August.
WTI for July delivery fell 0.3 percent, to $71.50 a barrel as of 11:30 a.m. in Singapore, and Brent for August settlement dropped 0.4 percent to $76.02 a barrel.
Google Finance’s Market Summary placed Brent crude futures at $75.53 per barrel at 2:00 p.m., Amman Time, citing a 4.92 percent increase over in five days.
WTI futures dropped toward $71 a barrel after closing 0.6 percent lower Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.
Oil has lost around 12 percent this year, according to Bloomberg, as sluggish Chinese recovery and aggressive monetary policy from the Federal Reserve weighed on demand.
