Brent Oil Cruised Above $70 A Barrel

Brent oil cruised above $70 a barrel on August 13. Today in global markets, a barrel of Brent oil is priced at at $70.72.

The barrel of Brent oil, which went up to $ 71.90 yesterday, closed the day at $ 71.31. The barrel price of Brent oil, which recorded a decrease of 0.82 percent compared to the closing at 09:20 am today, is trading at $ 70.72. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was traded at $68.45 a barrel. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) oil market report for July announced that the reinstatement of restrictions due to increasing coronavirus (Covid-19) cases reduced oil demand, bringing prices down. Lowering its global oil demand forecast by 300 thousand barrels for this year, the IEA expects the demand to be 96 million 150 thousand barrels. The agency estimates that it will reach 99 million 310 thousand barrels by lowering its global oil demand forecast for the next year. The report, which is expected to see a smaller increase in demand in the remainder of this year, with the increasing oil demand slowing down in July, also drew attention to the risks posed by the Delta variant in the Covid-19 outbreak. On the other hand, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept its expectation of increase in global oil demand for this year at 6 million barrels and estimated the daily oil demand as 96.6 million barrels. Despite the upward revisions in economic growth, the forecast that the growth will be experienced in sectors where oil usage is not intense played a role in keeping the expectation constant. Experts say that the re-imposition of restrictions, especially in Asian countries with high oil consumption, will continue to suppress prices. In technically terms, it is stated that the range of $70.84 to $71.06 can be viewed as resistance and the range of $70.42 to $70.22 as support in Brent oil.