The price of Nigerian crude moderately decreased $86.53 a barrel on Tuesday.
The crude, however, maintained its premium status as industry data showed a buildup in both crude and fuel inventories in the world’s largest economies.
Brass River and Qua Iboe were down by 59 basis points late Tuesday, trading at $86.53 a barrel. Brent Crude, the major oil benchmark, traded at $82.5 a barrel at the time of writing this report.
Qua Iboe is produced by ExxonMobil using multiple offshore fields and is exported via the Qua Iboe Terminal. Refiners favour this crude because of its low sulfur content and excellent quality.
Both Nigerian oil benchmarks saw a slight decline due to signs of easing supply constraints and a decline in global oil demand, particularly in the U.S.
Oil traders project that there will likely be a decrease in crude oil inventories of roughly 11.1 million barrels in the past week.
Nigerian crude oil prices were also impacted by cautious expectations about production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and affiliates (OPEC+) ahead of a policy meeting on June 1.
Nigeria’s average daily oil production fell from 1.3 million barrels per day in February to 1.2 million barrels per day in March, according to OPEC’s latest figures.
