Angola: Cabinda crude oil prices drop moderately in February
The average price of Angola’s Cabinda crude oil dropped from USD 69.2 per barrel in January to USD 65.5 per barrel in February. February’s print was 19.6% higher in year-on-year terms but 5.3% below the average price observed in January. February’s print marked the first month-on-month drop in prices following seven consecutive monthly increases.
Prices in the month were weighed down by instability in financial markets in the first days of February and indications of a build-up in inventories in the United States. A selloff in equity markets following reports that inflation in the United States is creeping up at a faster-than-expected pace impacted oil markets. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, oil inventories in the U.S. rose in month-on-month terms due to increased shale oil production. Higher inventories come despite record high compliance among countries to the OPEC oil output cut deal (February: 149%; January:133%).