On Thursday, oil prices began to rise amid reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) about a significant decrease in oil reserves in the United States. According to API estimates, inventories decreased by 7.4 million barrels last week, and if these data are confirmed by today's official report of the Ministry of Energy, this will be the largest reduction since June. The price of November futures for Brent crude oil on the London ICE Futures exchange rose to $73.52 per barrel. Futures for WTI crude oil for October delivery reached $70.06 per barrel at NYMEX electronic trading. The sharp drop in oil prices at the beginning of the week is due to signs of weakening economic activity in the United States and China, as well as hopes for an early resumption of oil production and exports from Libya. Despite reports that OPEC+ may delay the planned increase in production, this did not stop the fall in prices. Since the beginning of the week, Brent and WTI crude oil have lost more than 5% in price. According to analysts, the prospects for demand growth remain uncertain, and significant supply disruptions are not expected, which focuses the market's attention on OPEC+ actions. It is also predicted that a technical correction may lead to a short-term price increase, however, without an extension of OPEC+ production restrictions, the market may lose confidence in the alliance's ability to keep oil at about $70 per barrel. In this case, the average price of Brent crude oil in 2025 may be about $60 per barrel.
