Oil turns higher after OPEC report ‎

Oil prices rose on Monday after OPEC issued a report that dispelled market concerns about weak demand in the United States and China, which were exacerbated by conflicting signals from the Federal Reserve (the US central bank).

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures for January rose 73 cents to $82.16 per barrel after falling by a dollar during early trading.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for December also rose 70 cents to $77.87 per barrel.

Although some crude oil losses were compensated on Friday after Iraq expressed its support for the production cuts implemented by the OPEC+ group, it fell by nearly four percent during the week, recording losses for the third week in a row for the first time since May.

OPEC said on Thursday in a monthly report that the fundamentals of the oil market are still strong, and blamed speculators for the decline in prices, while it slightly raised its expectations for the growth of global oil demand in 2023 and stuck to its high expectations. Relatively for the year 2024

“OPEC’s monthly oil market report appears to dispel demand concerns as it points to inflated negative sentiment towards Chinese demand while raising demand growth expectations for this year and leaving them unchanged for next year,” Craig Erlam, chief market analyst at OANDA, said in a note today. ‎

Investors were concerned after the US Energy Information Administration said last week that crude production in the United States this year would increase slightly less than expected, while demand would decline.

Weak economic data released last week from China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, raised fears of faltering demand. Chinese refiners requested smaller supplies for December from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter.

The OPEC+ group, which includes OPEC and other allies, including Russia, will meet on November 26.