Oil futures closed with a gain, still trading at their highest since October. In addition to the focus on indicators from the United States and China, the commodity advanced this Wednesday, 3rd, due to the weakness of the dollar and also with the stance of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+), which kept plans under control of supply to support prices.
WTI for May closed up 0.33% (US$0.28), at US$85.43 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), and Brent for June advanced 0.48% (US $0.43), at US$89.35 per barrel, on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Oil was already operating with a positive signal in the morning, but extended gains after OPEC+ maintained its current policy, which was already expected.
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On the indicator agenda, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that oil stocks grew by 3.21 million barrels in the week ending March 29, when analysts interviewed by the Wall Street Journal predicted a drop of 1.2 million barrels. Gasoline stocks fell by 4.256 million barrels, and distillate stocks fell by 1.268 million barrels, while average daily production remained unchanged.
Oil reflected data battery
Still on the North American agenda, ADP reading showed 184 thousand vacancies created in March in the USA, above the forecast of 150 thousand from analysts interviewed by FactSet. The country’s services purchasing managers index (PMI) fell from 52.3 in February to 51.7 in March, according to S&P Global, when analysts predicted 52.1.
In China, the services PMI increased from 52.5 in February to 52.7 in March, in line with expectations. For Capital Economics, however, the Chinese economy is still expected to slow down until the end of the year.
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Among analysts, the consultancy Centro Brasileiro de Infraestrutura (CBIE) projects an average price for a barrel of Brent oil of US$85.15 in 2024. The information is in the entity’s annual report, with perspectives for the sector.
Bank of America (BofA) has revised upwards projections for Brent and WTI in 2024, now forecasting that they will end 2024 at US$86 and US$81 per barrel, respectively.
*With information from Dow Jones Newswires
