Azerbaijan, Baku, March 17 / Trend A.Badalova /
Oil prices on world markets started slightly to lose ground by the end of last week. Partly cause of fall in oil prices was the information about the growth of U.S. fuel stocks. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the country's oil reserves increased by 2.5 million barrels, which was significantly above the analysts' expectations, forecasting growth at 1 million barrels.
Nevertheless, the political situation in the Middle East and North Africa remained the main motive force in world oil prices last week. Some easing of concerns about the reduction in oil supply by these countries has also played a significant role in reduction of oil prices.
As a result of trades on Friday, March 11, April futures price for Brent fell by 1.38 percent to $113.84 per barrel. Cost of the April futures for the U.S. WTI oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 1.5 percent to $101.16 per barrel.
The average spot price in 13 varieties (including North American) last week amounted to $112.06 per barrel, which is $1.43 per barrel more than the previous week.
The highest average price was observed on the Minas oil produced in Indonesia, which amounted to $121.41 per barrel last week increasing by $10.97. The price for Minas is used in setting prices for other brands of oil exports in the Gulf region. Its density is 35.3-degrees API, with a 0.09-percent sulfur content..
Average price for the Bonny Light oil produced in Nigeria. It was amounted to $118.2 per barrel compared to $117.86 per barrel a week earlier. The density of Bonny Light, used to determine the price of other brands of oil exports in the Gulf, is 33.4-degrees API with a 0.16-percent sulfur content.
Average price for the Malaysian oil Tapis hit $117.92 per barrel, increasing by $1.61 per barrel. This type is used as a reference for the oil-producing zone of the Far East. Tapis's density is 45.5-degrees API with a 0.1-percent sulfur content.
Average price for North Sea Oseberg oil was $116.05 per barrel increasing by $0.15. The density of Oseberg is 37.8-degrees API with a 0.27-percent sulfur content.
The price of Brent last week was $115.25 last week compared to $114.76 a week earlier. Brent Dated's density is 38.3-degrees API, with a 0.36-percent sulfur content.
The average spot price for North Sea Forties was $114.4 per barrel last week increasing by $0.21. Forties has a low sulfur content and high potential to produce gasoline. Its density is about 40.3-degrees API with a 0.56-percent sulfur content.
Average spot price for the high-sulfur oil Urals, which is a mixture of oil produced in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District and Tatarstan was $111.7 per barrel with a $0.71 decrease from the previous week. Last week average spot price for Urals oil hit $96.79 per barrel. The main producers of Urals oil is the Rosneft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz, Gazprom Neft, TNK-BP and Tatneft companies. Abroad, this oil is known under the name Siberian Light. In Russia, oil futures for Urals are traded on the FORTS market at the RTS stock exchange.
Average spot price for the American Mars oil was $111 per barrel compared to $111.57 per barrel. Mars's density is 28.9-degrees API with a 2.05-percent sulfur content.
The average spot price for the OPEC oil basket hit $110.73 per barrel in last week increasing by $1.45. The OPEC's price is the average index of physical prices for the following 11 grades of oil: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
Last week, the average spot price for the benchmark grade of oil from the Middle East Oman hit $110.66 per barrel compared to $111.64 a week earlier. The density of the Oman oil is 36.3-degrees API, with a 0.8-percent sulfur content.
Last week, the average spot price for a marker grade of oil produced in Dubai and used as a benchmark in setting prices of other brands of oil exports in the Gulf region Dubai Crude amounted to $105.83 per barrel. Dubai Crude is light oil whose density is 31 degrees-API with a 2-percent sulfur content.
Last week, the average spot price for the American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $103.72 compared to $101.09 per barrel. WTI's density is 40-degrees API with a 0.4-05-percent sulfur content. This oil is mainly used to produce gasoline and therefore the demand is high, particularly in the U.S. and China.
The lowest average spot price was observed for the American WTS crude oil at $100 increasing by $3.13. The density of WTS is not less than 30 degrees-API with a 2.5-percent sulfur content.