Brent Oil Hovered Above $74 a Barrel

Brent oil hovered above $74 a barrel on July 1. Today, in global markets, a barrel of Brent oil is trading at $74.72.

The barrel of Brent oil, which went up to $ 75.60 yesterday, closed the day at $ 74.62. The barrel of brent oil, which increased by 0.13 percent compared to the closing at 09:39 am today, is trading at $ 74.72. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil was traded at $73.67 a barrel. The decrease in the commercial crude oil stocks of the USA, the world's largest oil consumer, strengthened the perception of high demand in the country, and played a role in the slight rise in prices. According to data from the US Energy Information Administration, the country's commercial crude oil inventories fell by about 6 million 700 thousand barrels from the previous week, more than expected. The market expectation was that stocks would decrease by 4 million 460 thousand barrels. In the aforementioned period, the gasoline stocks of the USA increased by approximately 1 million 500 thousand barrels contrary to the expectations. Markets paid attention to the meeting of the OPEC+ group to be held today regarding the production policy to be implemented as of August. While experts expect Saudi Arabia to take a more cautious approach due to the fragility of global oil demand, they think that Russia will be one of the countries that want to continue production increase due to the current demand outlook and high oil prices. Louise Dickson, Petroleum Markets Analyst at Rystad Energy, an independent energy research company based in Norway, states that in August, when the demand was high, the OPEC+ group should theoretically increase its production by at least 1 million 500 thousand barrels per day in order to meet the demand needs and keep the market in balance. Dickson stated that the mid-season is approaching and the group trying to keep the market in balance is unlikely to make such a bold supply move, and used the following statements: "Instead, we expect a more modest supply increase, in line with the cautious approach the OPEC+ group has taken since May 2020, when it took drastic cuts in global supply management." In addition, demand uncertainty caused by coronavirus (Covid-19) variants continues to suppress prices. In technical terms, it is stated that the range of $75.07 to $75.57 can be viewed as resistance and the range of $74.57 to $74.07 as support in Brent oil.