Global crude oil news

28 Nov 2022 , 09:38 AM

Early on Monday, oil futures slid more than $1 as investors remained cautious ahead of an agreement on a Western price ceiling on Russian oil and an OPEC+ summit. Protests in the top importer China over harsh COVID-19 curbs fuelled demand worries.

Brent crude’s price fell $1.01 or 1.2% to $82.62 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for the United States fell $1.09 or 1.4% to $75.19.

Both benchmarks have experienced weekly drops for the last three weeks after last week’s 10-month lows. WTI lost 4.7%, while Brent concluded the most recent week down 4.6%.

The price range for WTI is anticipated to drop to $70-$75, the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting and the price cap on Russian oil might keep the market volatile.

China, the largest oil importer in the world, has maintained President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy even as the majority of global restrictions have been relaxed.

As protests over China’s draconian COVID regulations raged for the third day and spread to numerous cities in the wake of a deadly fire in the nation’s far west, hundreds of protesters and police engaged in violent altercations in Shanghai on Sunday night.

As anger over Xi’s zero-COVID policy grows, now three years into the pandemic, there has never been a wave of civil disobedience in mainland China before.

Diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) and the European Union have been debating a price ceiling on Russian oil between $65 and $70 per barrel in an effort to limit the amount of money used to support Moscow’s military incursion in Ukraine while avoiding any disruptions to the world’s oil markets.

However, a gathering of EU government officials set for November 25 evening to discuss the matter was canceled, according to EU diplomats. On December 5, when the EU begins to impose a ban on Russian crude, the price cap is scheduled to take effect.

Investors are also paying attention to the OPEC+ meeting on December 4, which is the organization’s upcoming gathering.

In October, OPEC+ decided to cut its output target by 2 million barrels.

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