The price of the barrel of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) opened this Thursday with a rise of 1.26%, to US $ 82.66 a barrel, amid OPEC production cuts and after data showing a greater than expected reduction in US inventories.
At 09:00 local time, the futures contracts of the WTI for delivery in October earned US$1.03 compared to the close of the previous day.
Among the bullish factors is the announcement that crude oil inventories of USA they fell 10.6 million barrels in the week ending August 25, well above expectations, according to the latest US government data released on Wednesday.
Thus, the commercial inventories of the world’s largest economy (excluding strategic reserves) are at 422.9 million barrelsa level 3% lower than the average of the last five years for this period.
Furthermore, many analysts expect that Saudi Arabia extend its voluntary oil production cuts to October, which would add to cuts already being maintained by other countries in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries along with Russia and its allies (OPEC+), according to the CNBC portal.
However, economic data from China pushed prices lower, after learning that the Asian giant’s manufacturing production fell for the fifth consecutive month.
He Chinese PMI (purchasing manager index, sector reference indicator) stood at 49.7 points in July, above the 49.3 it had marked the previous month and what was expected by analysts, who predicted that it would stand at 49.4.
In this indicatora mark above the threshold of 50 points implies growth in activity in the sector compared to the previous month, while one below represents a contraction.
On the other hand, the army in Gabon seized power on Wednesday in a new coup, which could affect the crude oil supplies of the country and further adjust the market.
Gabon exported a monthly average of 160,000 barrels per day to Asia from May to July.