WTI crude oil experienced a decline in its closing price as concerns over further cuts by OPEC+ were eased by Russia
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil experienced a loss in its closing price on Thursday. This decline was influenced by comments made by Russia's oil minister, indicating that further production cuts are unlikely at the upcoming OPEC+ meeting.WTI crude for July delivery closed down at $71.83 per barrel, experiencing a decrease of $2.51. Similarly, the global benchmark, July Brent crude, also witnessed a decline of $2.10, closing at $76.26 per barrel.This drop in prices follows three consecutive days of gains, which were driven by the Saudi oil minister's warning to short sellers, raising expectations of additional supply restrictions at the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for the first weekend of June. Furthermore, the United States reported a significant inventory decline, the largest in six months.However, according to Reuters, Russian oil minister Alexander Novak stated that further cuts from OPEC+ are unlikely, considering the already implemented voluntary cuts of over one million barrels per day that took effect in May. Additionally, weakened demand from China due to its slowing economy is also impacting oil prices, along with other commodities like copper.Surprisingly, it was comments from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak that negatively affected the market sentiment, just one day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a substantial storage draw of 12.5 million barrels. Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA, commented that Saudi Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, as well as other stakeholders, may not be pleased to see the impact of Novak's remarks, which contradicted the earlier bid made by Saudi Arabia in the market and its warning to short sellers.
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