BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 8
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, averaged $64 per barrel (b) in 2019, $7/b lower than its 2018 average, Trend reports citing the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the US benchmark, averaged $57/b in 2019, $7/b lower than in 2018, said the report released by the EIA.
“Compared with recent years, both crude oil prices traded within relatively narrow price ranges throughout the year. Brent prices reached an annual daily low of $55/b in early January, rising to a daily high of $75/b in late April. The resulting range of $20/b is the narrowest since 2003. WTI prices ranged from $47/b to $66/b. More recently, crude oil prices have increased following the January 3 US military operation in Iraq, likely reflecting an increase in geopolitical risk,” said the report.
Although the 2019 range of daily prices remained relatively narrow, Brent and WTI front-month futures prices did experience their largest single-day price increases since 2008, according to the EIA.
“On September 16, 2019, the first full day of trading after an attack on key energy installations in Saudi Arabia, Brent and WTI crude oil prices increased by $9/b and $8/b, respectively. The price increases were relatively short lived, and prices returned to pre-attack levels by the end of the month because of Saudi Arabia’s ability to bring production back online within weeks of the attack and global concerns about demand growth,” reads the report.
Throughout 2019, increases in US petroleum production put downward pressure on crude oil prices, said the EIA.
“In addition, the production increases likely limited the effect on prices from the attack on Saudi Arabia, production cut announcements from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela that limited crude oil exports from those countries.”
Outside the United States, crude oil production from major producers such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Iran declined in 2019.
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