Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.17
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
World oil prices are rising on Feb.17 amid the report about the possibility of extending the OPEC oil output deal.
The price of April futures for Brent crude oil has increased by 0.25 percent to $55.79 per barrel as of 03:37 EST. The price of March futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil grew by 0.17 percent to $53.45 per barrel.
Earlier, OPEC sources told Reuters that the supply reduction pact could be extended if all major producers showed "effective cooperation".
However, the data about the growth of US oil stocks curb the oil price increase.
The commercial crude stockpiles in the US (excluding the strategic reserve) have increased by 9.5 million barrels or 1.9 percent to 518.1 million barrels over the week ending Feb.10.
Analysts expected this figure to increase by 3.513 million barrels. Gasoline stocks in the country grew by 2.8 million barrels, while analysts expected 0.752 million barrels of decline.
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