Iran Press/ Europe: The main factor influencing oil prices is the balance of supply and demand, Freedom Finance Leading Analyst Natalya Milchakova pointed out. Oil demand is growing at the moment as the global economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the oil supply is rather limited, primarily because of the sanctions against Russia, the expert added.
Given the geopolitical uncertainty, the predictability of OPEC+’s decisions prevents a sharp rise in prices, which would have been inevitable amid the European Union’s decisions, Executive Director of the Capital Market Department at Univer Capital Artem Tuzov emphasized. An even greater price surge would have made oil unaffordable for some customers, the expert noted.
Another factor that is holding back prices is the move by International Energy Agency (IEA) countries to release large amounts of oil from strategic reserves, Finam Analyst Alexander Potavin noted. The IEA announced the sales of 120 mln barrels of oil from reserves but it amounts to less than one percent of global consumption so it will be difficult to fully stop prices from rising in the coming months and oil can hit the $115-120 per barrel benchmark, BitRiver Financial Analyst Vladislav Antonov estimates.
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