Oil prices rising amid declining production in Iraq

The price of oil on Jan. 25 afternoon switched to growth after the morning decline, and investors are playing back media reports about the reduction in Iraqi production, according to trading data, Report informs citing Prime agency.

As of 14:12 (Baku time), the price of April futures for North Sea Brent oil blend is growing by 0.58 percent, to $55.56 per barrel, March futures - by 0.63 percent, to $55.76 per barrel. The price for March futures of WTI oil increased by 0.71 percent to $52.66 per barrel.

Investors drew attention to the news about the reduction in oil production in Iraq. The country reportedly intends to cut oil output in the first two months of this year to compensate for violating the OPEC+ agreement from last year.

Meanwhile, markets are still dominated by conflicting factors that lead today to such multidirectional price fluctuations. So, investors do not exclude that the lunar New Year celebration in China in February may cause a new surge in COVID cases.

Citi analysts, whose opinion is quoted by Reuters, note that there is a certain tug-of-war on the oil market, due to which volatility remains. On the one hand, the decline in demand forecasts by the International Energy Agency and expectations of a decrease in demand for crude in China and the emergence of new strains of coronavirus. On the other hand, production cut by OPEC+ countries and a weaker US dollar.