Oil prices closed with gains on Thursday, continuing the good start of “black gold” entering 2022, while traders are following the developments in Kazakhstan and the oil production cuts in Libya.
Dozens of people were killed in Kazakhstan on Thursday as security forces responded to protests across the country over rising fuel prices. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance led by Russia, announced on Thursday that it would send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan at the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The situation in Kazakhstan “is becoming increasingly tense. It is a country that currently produces 1.6 million barrels of oil per day,” said Barbara Lambrecht, a commodity analyst at Commerzbank.
The government of Kazakhstan announced today that it has set a six-month ceiling on fuel sales prices, amid chaotic unrest in the country. The measure aims to “stabilize the socio-economic situation” in Kazakhstan.
Libya, meanwhile, said Monday it expects production to fall further by 200,000 barrels a day this week as workers try to repair a damaged pipeline. Combined with the damage to oil fields, Libyan production is expected to fall by more than 500,000 barrels a day.
In this climate, West Texas Intermediate crude February delivery rose $ 1.61, or 2.07%, to $ 79.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while intra-day highs reached $ 80.05 a barrel.
The Brent oil March delivery added $ 1.85, or 2.3%, to $ 82.65 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Both contracts closed at a six-week high and on a weekly basis have risen more than 6% so far.
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