West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Light Sweet Crude oil prices reached four months high, while Natural Gas prices dropped to 12 months low. According to data, the prices of crude oil crossed $100 per barrel after four months as WTI prices on Wednesday touched $100.86 per barrel mark, breaking its last four months' record.
Crude prices opened at $99.31 per barrel, touched low of $98.40 per barrel and posted a high of $100.86 per barrel till American markets open. This was the first time after July 26, 2011 when prices crossed $100/bbl level and dropped to a low of $74.95/bbl. Total 361.588 million barrels were traded during the day at New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
WTI prices moved both ways during the first 16 days of November, as it opened at $92.56/bbl, dropped to a low of $89.15/bbl and posted a high of $100.86/bbl on 16th. Natural Gas prices dropped to one year's low $3.387 per MMBTU on Wednesday. The officials at Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), while commenting on the international crude oil prices, said that Pakistan was importing oil from Gulf, and local prices are linked with Saudi Armco.
They said that the fixation of local POL prices has nothing to do with the WTI prices, but WTI prices are playing a leading role in setting international oil prices. When asked about expected increase in local oil prices, they said that it was too early to say anything in this connection, but apparently, keeping in view the international oil price trend, local oil prices may go up by 2-3 percent.