International Crude Oil Prices Exceed $105
Stimulated by the U.S. dollar falling to a record low against the euro, New York crude oil prices exceeded $105 and rose to a record high of $105.96 per barrel.
After OPEC decided to keep production unchanged, global crude oil prices continued to rise, and data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed an unexpected decrease in crude oil inventories in the latest week, which also provided support for oil prices. Yesterday at 19:15 Beijing time, the New York crude oil futures April contract rose 88 cents, setting a new record of $105.96 per barrel.
OPEC made the decision to maintain existing production unchanged at the OPEC Ministerial Meeting held in Vienna on the 5th. Previously, 10 of the 13 oil-exporting countries said they would maintain output unchanged, and the results of the day's meeting were in line with market expectations.
OPEC Chairman and Algerian Oil Minister Khalil emphasized that the current high oil prices in the international oil market are not due to a shortage of crude oil supply, but are caused by other factors, including the weak U.S. dollar due to weak economic growth, speculation and geopolitical factors. .
The International Energy Agency criticized this result. The International Energy Agency said that high oil prices prove that the market judges that crude oil supply is insufficient, and OPEC should pay more attention to the signals given by the market. The International Energy Agency believes that countries must reserve more crude oil due to the impact of geopolitical issues in Nigeria, South America and the Middle East and other factors on the crude oil market. In addition, even if the economic growth of advanced economies slows down, the economies of emerging market countries will continue to grow, so oil demand will not necessarily fall.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) also called on the oil organization to pay attention to high oil prices and increase production. The IEA said OPEC's decision to keep production unchanged may cause crude oil inventories to rise, but high oil prices send a strong message that the market believes crude oil production is insufficient. The IEA also said the market needs more crude oil before summer and called on OPEC members to listen to market messages. The IEA believes that it is necessary to increase crude oil inventories because there is uncertainty in the supply of major oil-producing countries such as Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela, OPEC countries, and there is a clear need to increase crude oil inventories. The IEA also said that emerging market economies continue to grow, which will support oil demand even if the economies of developed countries slow down.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy will release oil inventory data for the week on the 5th. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to increase for an eighth consecutive week. The market expects that oil prices will likely fall next week as the United States will reduce gasoline consumption. Analysts believe that OPEC's larger measures may be introduced as early as the next OPEC meeting in April. At the end of April, OPEC will participate in supply and demand negotiations in Rome. OPEC's current daily production is 29.67 million barrels.
The rise in crude oil prices has led to increases in other energy markets. Currently, international coal prices have also risen to a record high. In this regard, Wang Shuai, an analyst at Orient Securities, pointed out that in addition to the rising prices of oil and natural gas and the advancement of clean coal technology, which have highlighted the price advantage of coal, the driving factors for the shift of the center of global energy consumption to coal are the economic growth of emerging economies in Asia. It is an important driving force for consumption growth. Since most of these countries have similar energy consumption structures to China and also rely heavily on coal, the economic growth of emerging economies has become the main driving force for the rapid growth of coal consumption.