AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,806 Increased By 37.8 (0.39%)
BR30 29,678 Increased By 278.1 (0.95%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

NEW YORK: Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after OPEC and its allies agreed to stick to their existing policy of gradual oil output increases.

Brent crude fell 18 cents to $71.45 a barrel by 1:09 p.m. EDT (1709 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 6 cents to $68.44 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Wednesday to stick to a policy from July of phasing out record output cuts by adding 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) a month to the market.

Still, the group revised up its 2022 demand outlook and faces U.S. pressure to raise production more quickly.

"While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to cast some uncertainty, market fundamentals have strengthened and OECD stocks continue to fall as the recovery accelerates," OPEC+ said in a statement.

OPEC+ has fulfilled a goal of removing excess oil from the global market and it is now important to keep the market balanced, Russia's top negotiator, Alexander Novak, said.

Oil prices slide as Chinese fuel demand falters

In the United States, gasoline stocks rose by 1.3 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Analysts had expected a 1.6 million-barrel drop.

Rising coronavirus infections could curtail demand in the United States in coming weeks, along with seasonal declines after summer driving season wanes.

"The gasoline build came as Tropical Storm Henry shut traffic on the East Coast which was a big hit to summer driving season," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.

The jump in gasoline inventories came even as product supplied, a measure of demand, topped 22 million bpd for the first time ever, EIA said.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels last week to 425.4 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 3.1 million-barrel drop.

U.S. crude prices are expected to remain under pressure as offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico gradually recovers. However, reviving Louisiana refineries shut by Hurricane Ida could take weeks, analysts said.

Comments

Comments are closed.