Today we are observing oil prices moving beyond the recent lower levels with a new upward momentum. The recent boost came as a result from the United States announcing that Mexico might be spared from tariffs a bit longer than expected. Moreover, the oil minister from Iraq, one of the leading member states of OPEC, stated that the organization will most likely stick to their agreement to keep production levels low at their next policy meeting. This gave the market a reassurance, after investors were worried that some countries (such as Russia, who willingly joined the agreement) are eager to bump production levels up.
This allowed the Brent crude oil to reach $62.46, while the WTI brand was trading near $53.24 earlier today. Both varieties of oil made gains of over 1% of their price today.
Previously, oil prices were under pressure due to the ever-increasing oil output in the United States. The US is not bound by the OPEC+ agreement and has been running a contrary policy for years, benefiting from the low oil prices, while OPEC members suffer. Furthermore, the trade war between the United States and China has been a huge factor for the depreciation of the value of oil because it is exacerbating the global economic slowdown. China is the biggest importer of oil in the world and any slowdown in their industry can cause the oil market to slip into oversupply.
