New York. The price of Texas Intermediate Oil (WTI) fell 0.3% yesterday and closed at $118.50 a barrel after briefly breaking the $120 barrier mid-session.
At the end of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI futures contracts for July delivery were down $0.37 from the previous close.
Benchmark oil in the US rose after Saudi Arabia raised the official sale price of its barrel of crude to Asia more than expected, according to some specialized media. “The current reopening in China will continue to bolster demand and be a bullish factor for crude prices,” analyst Craig Erlam of Oanda said in a note.
However, at the end of the day the price of Texas fell in value, which could mean a change in trend after six consecutive weeks on the rise.
OPEC+ agreed last Thursday to increase its production by 638,000 barrels per day in July and August, surpassing increases of 432,000 barrels per day previously forecast by the group.
The firm Sevens Report pointed out yesterday that the decision of OPEC + and especially Saudi Arabia to increase production to combat prices “is positive and, at a minimum, will slow down (or limit) any additional increase in oil prices, provided that geopolitics does not get worse”.
Meanwhile, gasoline futures contracts due in July fell 6 cents to $4.19 a gallon, and natural gas contracts for the same month rose 80 cents to $9.32 per thousand cubic feet.
On Friday, the price of intermediate oil from Texas had closed with a rise of 1.7% and closed at 118.87 dollars a barrel, a gain that occurred despite the increase in monthly production higher than expected.
