Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Crude oil prices ended 2017 at $60 per barrel, the highest end-of-year price since 2013, according to the analysis released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices averaged $51 per barrel in 2017, up $7 per barrel from the 2016 average, and ended the year $6 per barrel higher than at the end of 2016, said the EIA.
Brent prices have moved up $10 per barrel since the end of 2016 and ended the year at $65 per barrel, widening the Brent-WTI spread to $5 per barrel at the end of the year, the largest difference since 2013, according to the analysis.
“Despite relatively high US crude oil production, curtailments in production by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and robust global demand supported crude oil price increases in 2017. The OPEC agreement to curtail crude oil production in 2017 and subsequent extension of that agreement through 2018 tightened crude oil supplies, which put upward pressure on crude oil prices,” said the EIA.
The price spread between Brent and WTI was significantly greater in 2017 than in 2016, according to EIA estimates.
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