WTI futures contracts for April delivery rose $7.19 from the previous close, ending with an 8% increase
EFE, Texas
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed this Wednesday with a 7% increase and stood at $110.60 a barrel, pressured by the decision of the OPEC+ alliance to maintain its plan of gradual production increase.
According to data at the close of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI futures contracts for April delivery added $7.19 compared to the previous close, in which they ended with an 8% increase.
The US benchmark crude oil price has risen sharply since the war in Ukraine began last Thursday and is now at its highest price since May 2011, with a cumulative increase of 47% since the beginning of the year.
Investors reacted today to the decision by OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to add 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day to their supplies in April, adhering to their plan for a gradual increase agreed in the summer of 2021.
His ministers asserted that there was "consensus" that the oil market "is well balanced" and that "the current volatility (of prices) is not caused by changes in market fundamentals but by current geopolitical events.".
Thus, the group of producers once again ignored calls from the US and other consuming nations that make up the International Energy Agency (IEA) for the cartel to stop the rise in fuel prices.
The IEA agreed on Tuesday to release 60 million barrels of oil from its members' strategic reserves to ensure there will be no supply problems after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but some analysts consider that amount "a drop in the ocean".
"The current realistic scenario is that a large portion of Russian crude, as well as its refined petroleum products, will not be readily available on the market and will create a supply deficit for the duration of the armed conflict," explained analyst Louise Dickson of Rystad Energy.
Meanwhile, natural gas contracts for April delivery rose 19 cents to $4.76 per thousand cubic feet, and gasoline contracts expiring the same month climbed 22 cents to $3.30 per gallon.
