Baghdad, Iraq – Basra Heavy and Basra Medium crude oils recorded significant weekly losses, impacted by the volatility and pressures prevailing in global oil markets, despite slight gains in recent daily trading.
Basra raw materials performance
In the latest trading session, Basra Heavy crude fell 16 cents, or 0.27%, to settle at $60.09 a barrel. For the week, the crude suffered a cumulative loss of 96 cents, or 1.57%, compared to the start of the week.
Basra Medium crude was the hardest hit, falling sharply in the last trading session by $5.16, a drop of 8.28%, to close at $57.19 per barrel. Its weekly losses totaled approximately $5.96, representing a 10.42% decline on a weekly basis.
The global oil landscape
Meanwhile, global oil prices partially bucked this downward trend in daily trading. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 32 cents, or 0.45%, to $72.12 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, also climbed 9 cents, or 0.13%, to close at $68.78 a barrel.
Signs of decline
Despite a slight improvement in global prices at the end of the week, market indicators still point to a general trend of weekly losses for many crude oil grades.
Experts attribute this continued pressure to investor concerns about global demand levels. Geopolitical and economic worries are also weighing on international markets. Consequently, this is directly reflected in Iraqi crude oil prices.
This decline reflects the continued uncertainty in global energy markets. Indeed, price movements remain subject to supply fluctuations and macroeconomic concerns that dominate investor sentiment worldwide. This places Iraqi oil exports, particularly Basra crude, at the mercy of these corrective waves in international markets.
All eyes will remain on the upcoming OPEC+ meetings and global economic data. These will play a crucial role in determining price movements and the ability to recover from the losses incurred by markets this week. Amidst this, expectations remain that prices will stabilize above current levels to support the oil budgets of exporting countries.
