Rising tensions in the Middle East are pushing oil higher

This came after the Syrian opposition announced the overthrow of the president on state television on Sunday Bashar al-Assadending his family’s more than 50-year rule and sparking fears of a new wave of unrest in the region.

In this context, the company announced Aramco Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has announced a reduction in the official selling price of its Arab Light crude oil to customers in… Asia For January 2025 to the lowest level since the beginning of 2021, the price was reduced by 80 cents to $0.90 per barrel above the Oman/Dubai average.

By 04:06 GMT, oil futures were higher Brent Up 26 cents, or 0.37 percent, to $71.38 a barrel.

Crude oil futures also rose West Texas The median rose 27 cents, or 0.42%, to $67.48 a barrel.

Last week, Brent crude fell more than 2.5 percent and West Texas Intermediate fell 1.2 percent, as analysts expected an oversupply next year due to weak demand, despite the decision … OPEC+ Postponing production increases and extending large production cuts until the end of 2026.

In this regard, Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, said that developments in Syria added a new layer of political uncertainty in the Middle East, which provided some support to the market.

He pointed out that investors are closely monitoring the potential impact of US President-elect Donald Trump’s policy in the field of energy and the Middle East.

It is important to note that the OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their independent producers RussiaLast Thursday, it decided to postpone the increase in oil production by three months until April, and extended the complete abolition of production cuts by one year until the end of 2026.