The Finance Ministry has said that it is still monitoring the plan of OPEC+, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, for cutting oil production.
“We haven’t made any speculations about the plan. Indeed, last time, as soon as there was an announcement of a production cut, the price of oil immediately went up,” Director General of Budgeting at the ministry Isa Rachamatarwata said adding that the ministry is still closely monitoring the plan to slash oil production.
He made the remarks after the “2022 BNI Investor Daily Summit” on Wednesday.
He predicted that other adjustments would be made on the global level given the deteriorating global economic situation so the increase in oil prices could have several negative effects, such as aggravating the risk posed by cold in the European region in December 2022.
Thus, the government will continue to pay more attention to the global oil price trend. Rachmatarwata said that in the future, there might still be an increase in global oil prices, though it is expected to be limited due to current global conditions.
On a separate occasion, Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara said that his administration is continuing to pay close attention to the OPEC+ decision.
“We are also paying attention to how the United States is now, how’s Russia (faring),” he said when asked about the possibility of additional fuel price subsidies due to the reduction in global oil production.
Globally, oil has become a very vital commodity, even amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, he noted.
Oil prices rose to a three-week high after OPEC+, on October 5, 2022, agreed to a massive production cut since the COVID-19 pandemic to two million barrels per day from November 2022. The decision was driven by uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook and the global oil market.
Despite the spike, oil prices plummeted about two percent in late trade on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s decline, as demand concerns rose following the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s warning of slowing global growth.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November declined by US$1.78, or 2.0 percent, capped at US$89.35 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after sliding 1.6 percent in the previous session.
Meanwhile, Brent for December delivery shed US$1.9, or 2.0 percent, capped at US$94.29 per barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, following a 1.8-percent fall the day before.
Source: Antara News