Oil: an overview of the market situation

The cost of Brent crude rose today, while reaching a nine-month high around $ 115 per barrel, due to the growing tensions in Iraq.

Experts point out that fears of potential supply disruptions in connection with the fighting in Iraq persist, as the conflict between Sunni Islamist militants and the Iraqi army continued on Thursday. According to local residents, Iraqi forces regained control of the oil refinery in Baiji, after he was captured by Sunni militants on Wednesday. Recall that in Iraq, producing about 3.5 million barrels of oil a day last month, making it the second largest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia.

"Iraq - one of the world's largest oil producers and exporters, the second largest OPEC, he overtook Iran. Even a small reduction in production will have a huge impact on oil prices, and some analysts are already talking about the future of 125 and even $ 150 a barrel, "- says the expert of the German Commerzbank Eugen Weinberg. Among economists there is a perception that every extra 10 dollars a barrel of oil cost rob global GDP growth of 0.2%. At the same time, and without the Iraqi crisis, the IMF and other international organizations worsen forecasts for this year.

Meanwhile, adding that oil prices were supported after the Federal Reserve gave a positive assessment of the U.S. economy and has remained committed to accommodative monetary policy.

Slight pressure continues to provide data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which showed that domestic crude oil inventories fell by 579,000 barrels in the week ended June 13, which was much less than the decrease of 5.7 million barrels, which have been reported in American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts predicted that stocks decrease by 700,000 barrels. We also add that oil at Cushing, Oklahoma, rose by 247,000 barrels, recording the first increase in the past nine weeks.

Cost of the August futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to $ 106.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

August futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture rose $ 0.71 to $ 115.00 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.