Oil price rises in hopes of U.S.-China deal/OPEC cuts, good news for Nigeria

Brent crude oil rose by 28 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $67.48 a barrel in the future market just as West Texas Intermediate was up 25 cents, also a 0.4 per cent gain, at $61.36 a barrel. “Oil prices have continued to show year-end strength supported by a combination of definitive progress on the U.S.-China trade deal, the December  OPEC/OPEC+ agreement, and slowing shale activity,” said Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader. “All of which is pointing to a stronger performance for oil prices in Q1 than anyone had thought only two months ago.”

The rise in crude oil price is good news for Nigeria as it firms the bench mark budget estimate for the 2020 budget which implementation begins on January 1. Over time, the US-China trade war has been affecting the price of crude oil, rising in prospect of an end to the war and dimming when the trade war seem unabating. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have a signing ceremony for the so-called Phase 1 agreement to end their trade dispute that was put together earlier this month. The roughly 17-month trade war hit global economic growth and demand for oil, leaving prices range-bound for the most of the year.

Lower demand also rendered supply cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia less effective in supporting the market.

The so-called OPEC+ grouping agreed in November to extend and deepen production cuts that would take as much as 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of supply off the market, or roughly 2% of global demand. U.S. producers, not party to the OPEC+ agreement, have been pumping record amounts of oil, especially shale crude, to fill any supply gaps. Growth in production in the U.S. is forecast by many to slow, however. Still, more supply is coming in the new year with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait earlier this week agreeing to end a dispute over their Neutral Zone, which can supply as much as 500,000 barrels per day of oil, or about 0.5% of global demand.