Basra crude gains as US stockpile declines

Shafaq News/ Iraq has raised the official selling price (OSP) for Basra Medium crude to Asia by $0.73, or 0.97%, to $76.33 a barrel.

The price tag of the heavy counterpart rose by $0.73, or 1.05%, to $70.28.

Oil rallied to the highest since early December as US crude inventories fell more than anticipated.

Crude remains on track for the first back-to-back quarterly decline since 2019 as further tightening by leading central banks risks tipping the US and European Union into recession.

Traders are also tracking the impact of China’s easing of harsh virus restrictions, and a warning from Saudi Arabia that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies would remain proactive and pre-emptive in managing the global oil market.

Russia’s seaborne oil shipments collapsed in the first week of Group-of-Seven sanctions targeting Moscow’s petroleum revenues, a potential source of alarm for governments around the world. In North America, meanwhile, TC Energy Corp. pushed back the full return of its Keystone pipeline by a week.