The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at 108.62 dollars a barrel as at the end of February compared with $109.69 the preceding day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of: Bonny Light (Nigeria), Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised output by 97,000 barrels to 30.7 million a day in February, a Bloomberg survey showed. OPEC crude output climbed as a gain by Libya outweighed a cut by Saudi Arabia, the Bloomberg survey further showed. Libyan daily production increased by 130,000 barrels to 1.24 million last month, the biggest gain of any member, after the reopening of the country’s Zueitina export terminal early in February.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest producer, pumped 9 million barrels a day, the lowest level since May 2011, according to the survey. Output was down 100,000 barrels from January and 900,000 barrels from May, when production reached the highest since at least January 1989.
On the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, Brent for April settlement Friday dropped $1.07 to $110.31 a barrel. Volume was more than double the 100-day average. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $19.60 to West Texas Intermediate (WTI), compared with $19.33 the preceding day.
