- OPEC+ panel ends with no agreement on output cuts.
- Russia is reportedly opposing Saudi Arabia’s call for a 1.2 million bpd reduction.
- Upbeat market mood helps risk-sensitive oil cling to small gains.
Crude oil prices gained traction on Wednesday and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to a daily high of $48.40 during the European trading hours. However, with the OPEC+ ministerial panel ending without an agreement, the WTI erased its daily gains and dropped below $47.
No agreement on OPEC+ output cuts
According to the Wall Street Journal, Russia has opposed Saudi Arabia’s call for an OPEC+ output cut of 1.2 million barrels per day to counter the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global energy demand. Speaking to Iranian state TV after the meeting, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh confirmed that they have failed to reach a final agreement on production reduction.
Meanwhile, the weekly report published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showed that crude oil inventories in the US increased by 0.785 million barrels in the week ending February 28th. This reading came in lower than the market expectation for a build of 2.64 million barrels and provided a boost to the WTI.
Additionally, the upbeat market mood as reflected by more-than-3% gains recorded in Wall Street’s main indexes helped the risk-sensitive WTI stay resilient. As of writing, the WTI was up 0.4% on the day at $47.30.
Technical levels to watch for
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