Oil prices firm after Russia signaled balance global markets

Oil prices rose on Thursday, after paring losses from the previous session, and after a senior Russian official said that global oil markets are balanced.

According to “Reuters”, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that OPEC + does not see a need to further reduce oil production, but it is always able to adjust its policy. Russia is part of the OPEC + group, which announced this month a combined cut of about 1.16 million barrels per day, in a sudden decision that the United States described as unwise, which led to a rise in oil prices.

Brent crude futures settled at $78.37 a barrel, up 68 cents, and West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $74.76, up 46 cents.

On Wednesday, benchmark indices fell nearly 4 percent after concerns about a US economic slowdown outweighed a larger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories.

The decline in the curve of Brent crude futures subsided and reached about $2.20 per barrel, after it was $4 per barrel on April 12.

Markets are now awaiting Eurozone first-quarter GDP data due on Friday, which is expected to show how higher energy prices and tightening banking standards are affecting the economy, ahead of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy meeting on May 4th.