London, Friday, 15 July 2022
As Saudi Arabia is not anticipated to unilaterally declare any increase in oil output and expectations of a less aggressive tightening from the Fed added to oil bulls' optimism, WTI crude futures rose 2% from their lowest level in four months towards the $98 per barrel level.
Prior to President Biden's visit to the Kingdom, a US official stated that although the US does not anticipate Saudi Arabia to immediately increase oil production, it is watching the outcome of the next OPEC+ meeting on August 3 in the hopes of securing a commitment from OPEC to increase production in the coming months.
Additionally, it appears that the majority of OPEC members are pumping at their highest rates.
Nevertheless, despite growing concerns about a demand-draining economic downturn, the US benchmark fell 7% this week. In the previous session, WTI crude tested the $90 per barrel on worries that increased monetary tightening to fight inflation and ongoing lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus in China would hurt oil demand.
(Source: Trading Economics // Edit and reporting by: The Decision Maker – Finance and energy editors)