KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti oil moved up by 79 cents to $55.68 per barrel on Monday, after it was at $54.89 pb last Friday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. Globally, the price of Brent crude went up by $1.11 to $56.35 per barrel, the same case with the West Texas Intermediate, which increased by $1.35 to $53.55 pb.

The OPEC daily basket price gained 72 cents during Monday's trading to stand at $55.13 per barrel (pb) compared with $54.41 pb a day before, the organization said in a statement yesterday. OPEC said average annual price in 2020 was $41.47 pb. Oil prices have been on the rise with benchmark Brent going beyond $57 pb today despite disturbances in distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, new infections and spread of the variant of the virus. However, observers said commitment of OPEC+ in production cuts contributed to withdrawal of surplus from the market.

OPEC+ agreed, during a virtual meeting on January 5, to release two million barrels per day by summer. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). - KUNA