The prices of crude oil fell significantly yesterday as Brent crude dropped by 1.6 percent, to trade at $82.31 a barrel having slumped more than three percent to $80.61 earlier in the session for its lowest since January 4.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also slid one percent to $75.53 after touching its lowest since Dec. 22 last year at $73.60.
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The slip in the price of Brent still leaves Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer $10 above the benchmark of $70 proposed in the revenue and expenditure budgets of 2023 which stood at N9.73 trillion and N20.51 trillion, respectively.
This figure results in a N10.78 trillion fiscal deficit which represents 4.78 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The proposed budget also pegged oil production at 1.69million daily and GDP growth rate at 3.75 per cent.
Both benchmarks, which hit 10-month lows last week, have posted three consecutive weekly declines.
Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, said oil was paring losses as investors looked ahead to an OPEC+ meeting this weekend.
“We feel some of the selling based on reports of China uprisings was overdone. Inventories are still near record lows and this probably increases the odds of an OPEC production cut,” Flynn said.
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China has stuck with President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions.
Hundreds of demonstrators and police clashed in Shanghai on Sunday night as protests over the restrictions flared for a third day and spread to several cities.
