Brent crude breaks $80 a barrel, hits lowest in nearly two months

Prices petroleum They made significant declines on Monday and Brent crude broke $80. It happens on the day that The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the signing of a contract to purchase 4.65 million barrels of crude oil. For the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which will be delivered to the Bayou Choctaw site in Louisiana during the last three months of the year.

Crude Oil Futures Brent lost 1.5 percent to $79.05 a barrel. US Crude Oil Futures West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8% to $75.83 a barrel.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate lost 1.8% and 3.7%, respectively.Last week due to a decline in Chinese demand and hopes of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

ExxonMobil will supply 3.9 million barrels of the contract, The rest will be provided by Macquarie Commodities Trading US LLC, the Energy Department said. The average purchase price for the oil is about $76.92 a barrel, according to the department.

Buy is last A series of contracts aimed at replenishing the country’s emergency oil reserves after a record release of 180 million barrels in 2022. The sale was an attempt to control gasoline prices, which have soared to more than $5 a gallon after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has reduced reserves to their lowest level in 40 years.

Data released this month showed that China’s total fuel oil imports fell 11% in the first half of 2024, Raising concerns about the demand outlook in the world’s largest importer of crude oil.

Prices also fell on Friday after news that Nigeria’s giant Dangote Refinery was reselling cargoes of U.S. and Nigerian crude oil after experiencing technical problems at the refinery.

Meanwhile, markets are watching oil-producing Venezuela after the country’s electoral body announced that President Nicolas Maduro won a third term with 51% of the vote. of votes, although multiple opinion polls indicated a victory for the opposition.

The United States had previously said it would “calibrate” its sanctions policy toward Venezuela depending on how elections go in the OPEC member state.