The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its July Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) said spot crude oil prices continued rising in June for the second consecutive month after hitting low levels in April, thanks to continued improvement in physical market fundamentals and gradual reduction on a global supply glut.
The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) value surged $11.88/barrel (47.2%%) from May to $37.05/barrel in June. ICE Brent rose by $8.36 (25.8%) month-on-month to an average of $40.77/barrel. Meanwhile, NYMEX WTI increased by $9.79 (34.3%) month-on-month to an average of $38.31/barrel.
Besides, the market received support from a pick-up in crude demand from refiners. The gradual easing of the oil market surplus indicated further improvement in global oil demand and supply fundamentals, OPEC said. This created a bullish market sentiment that buoyed crude futures prices. The gradual easing of the oil market surplus and demand improvement was also reflected in the continued easing of the global oil market’s contango structure in June.
