Oil drilling rigs
Crude oil prices rose on Friday as investors awaited the OPEC+ decision non supply reduction policies. Reports suggest that the alliance intends to extend voluntary cuts for the second quarter of the year. Additionally, economic activity indicators in China showed mixed signals, reflecting uncertainty about the future demand for oil.
Futures for Brent crude, scheduled for May delivery, rose by 0.43% to $82.26 a barrel at 09:31 am Makkah time.
Similarly, futures prices for US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, scheduled for April delivery, gained 0.34% to $78.53 per barrel, heading for a weekly gain of around 2.5%.
A survey conducted by S&P Global Commodities Insights from February 22 to 28, involving industry analysts in South Korea and Japan, revealed that 55% of participants expect OPEC+ to extend production cuts.
Sources told Reuters that OPEC+ will consider extending voluntary production cuts into the second quarter, with the possibility of an extension until the end of the year to provide additional support to the market.
Elsewhere, official data released showed that China’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 49.1 points in February compared to 49.2 points in January, marking the fifth consecutive month of contraction. However, the Non-Manufacturing PMI increased to 51.4 points from 50.7 points, despite a 0.4% decline in construction activity during the same period.
https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/1709215
