Oil prices rose to more than 6% on Friday, in light of the cold weather that boosted the demand for heating oil in the United States and Europe, but they are still close to their lowest levels since 2003, and are moving to another decline through the rest of next January and February, which is the largest in that month since at least 25 years, at a time when Venezuela launched invitations to members of the oil-producing countries organization (OPEC), to convene an emergency session during the next month to study the situation of the market and discuss the ways to cope with the collapse of oil prices, which exceeded expectations and complicated the financial situation of several countries, including Algeria, which lost $ 24 billion from its oil revenues in 2015.
According to the British news agency, Reuters, the oil market recorded on Friday, an improvement by 3.5%, compared with the recorded prices throughout the week, and according to the same report, the future crude deals are heading towards their first weekly gains since the beginning of the year, in time some analyses of oil affairs’ experts, the prices improved on Friday, after they collapsed during the last week and reached $ 22, which is the lowest level that it noticed since 25 years ago, as this does not bode well, but it is circumstantial because the indicators that control of the prices did not record any change, on the grounds that the main factors of the supply exceeded the demand and the increase of crude oil and petroleum products stocks are still existing in light of lifting the blockade on Iran and its first shipments which are directed to Europe.
Specialists in oil affairs and observers of the market expected a drop in the oil price during January at 16.8%, marking it the largest decline in the first months of the year since at least 25 years.
International price of crude Brent rose on Friday from $ 1.92 to $ 31.17 per barrel, after recording its lowest level since 2003, when it reached US $ 27.10 a barrel and it is likely to realize weekly gains of more than 6%. In the same context, the US crude oil rose nearly with two dollars reaching up $ 31.12 a barrel.
International Energy Agency said in its monthly report on Tuesday that the oil supply will exceed the demand for at least another year, while the oil market is in danger of “drowning in oversupply”, after the market recorded a return of Iran and the United States which entered for the first time.
Oil prices increase coincides with the cold weather and blizzards in the eastern coast of the United States and elsewhere in Europe, which boosted the demand on the heating oil, and this contributed to supporting the oil prices which are disturbing the largest producing countries, including those that refused to negotiate to review the quota-producing countries in the market and reduction, at a time when Venezuela, which is one of the largest producing countries within OPEC, at the time the Member States called for the convening of an emergency session next February.
