Oil closes higher after reports of Russian supply cuts and US data

The most liquid oil futures contracts closed higher this Friday (24) in a session marked by volatility, with investors monitoring the possibility that Russia will further restrict its supply of the commodity.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI oil for April closed up 1.23% (US$0.93), at US$76.32 a barrel, while Brent for the same month, traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), closed up 1.16% (US$ 0.95), at US$ 83.16 a barrel.

In the week, the change was 0.3% lower for WTI and 0.19% higher for Brent.

Oil even started the trading session high, extending yesterday’s gains, but lost strength in the middle of the trading session and started to fall after US inflation data pulled prices down.

However, in the final stretch, the energy asset rose again, with investors monitoring Reuters news that Russia plans to reduce its oil exports from western ports by up to 25% in March.

Still, the price of the commodity was benefited by new data from active wells and oil platforms in the United States, which retreated, valuing values ​​by limiting supply.

Despite the rumors about Russia, Commerzbank dismisses the possibility that the country will reduce its production, after the country’s deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, responsible for cooperation with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said that the announced production cut of 500,000 barrels per day would apply only to March. This means that there would not be a major reduction, just the end of the restriction.

“If Russia’s oil production returns to its current level after the reduction in March, the oil market will be considerably oversupplied in the second quarter.

Furthermore, the supply deficit in the second half would be significantly smaller based on IEA forecasts, which assume that Russian oil production will fall sharply this year.