Oil prices rise on UAE Energy Minister comments
March 7, 201611:23 AM
James Rose0 Comments
Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, United Arab Emirates Energy Minister
Oil prices surged Monday
on hopes that major producers would agree to freeze supply. Positive U.S. economic data fueled optimism and helped buoy crude prices.
WTI rose 4.7% to $37.59 a barrel on NYMEX, the highest price since early January. Brent climbed 4.9% to $40.63 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the highest level since December.
Oil prices have risen in recent weeks after Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar
agreed to freeze their output at January levels.
The UAE’s energy minister said that current prices are forcing
all suppliers to freeze their production.
USOIL chart by TradingView
“It doesn’t make any sense for anyone to increase the production with the current prices,” said Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei. “This is all good news for balancing the market. We just need to be patient.”
However, their agreement depends on both OPEC and non-OPEC producers agreeing to the plan. Iran, which is expected to increase its production this year,
hasn’t agreed to the freeze.
It remains to be seen how influential the proposed agreement will be on crude prices going forward.