Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
World oil prices are decreasing on Jan.31 against the backdrop of investors’ assumptions that the growth of shale oil production in the US can offset OPEC efforts to reduce the output.
The price of March futures for Brent crude oil has dropped by 0.18 percent and stood at $55.13 per barrel as of 02:11 EST. At the same time, the price of March futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil has decreased by 0.32 percent to $52.46 per barrel.
The number of drilling rigs in the US has increased by 2.5 percent to 712 over the working week ending Jan.27, according to Baker Hughes.
Reportedly, the number of oil rigs rose by 2.72 percent to 566. This is while the number of gas rigs grew by 2.11 percent and stood at 145.
Based on these reports, investors assume that the growth in the US shale production offsets the reduction of the oil output in other oil producing countries.
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