Nigerian Cargoes Unsold as India Takes Cheaper Russian Oil
Nigerian crude oil cargoes for September are unsold as major buyers, price sensitive Indian government took cheaper Russian oil to reduce energy costs and further consolidate trade relations with Moscow.
Amidst rising crude oil prices in the global market, top members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries Nigeria and Angola are losing sales to Russia.
India has become one of the top oil consumers buying crude oil needed for productive activities directly from Russia after several sanctions following the top oil producing ally of OPEC+’s invasion of Ukraine.
Untamed, crude oil prices rose above $90 per barrel as Saudi Arabia and Russia extended oil supply cuts amidst the expectation of rising demand in the United States. Despite rising Iranian exports, oil prices breached a resistance level, though India is ramping up purchases, while China is pushing for economic growth amidst pressures.
Crude prices, including the global benchmark Brent traded at $90 a barrel, are at their highest level of the year despite weak demand. Demand for Nigerian crude appears to be slowing, as its key customer India takes in cheaper Russian oil, Reuters said in a report.
There are still a few cargoes of Nigerian crude left over from the September schedule, a trader said On Thursday. Nigeria’s October loading schedule emerged in late August. The West African country on average typically has 40 cargoes of crude on offer any given month.
Sales in Angola, which counts China as its main customer, also appear to be thawing, with a trader on Wednesday suggesting only one cargo from its October loading schedule was sold in the past week.
US crude futures are showing very little movement as they trade a slight 0.2% lower at $87.35 a barrel after closing yesterday at a 10-month high of $87.54 a barrel. A weekly EIA report released this morning was mostly bullish as it saw large declines in US inventories of crude oil and gasoline.
The market has seen nine straight sessions of price increases for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) through yesterday, and investors appear reluctant to keep the momentum going, perhaps choosing instead to book some profits
