The cost of a Kuwaiti oil barrel reached its peak for the 2023, hitting $96.71 per barrel during trading on September 13. This suggests a promising outlook for price improvement in the upcoming period, driven by OPEC+ alliance agreements aimed at curbing production levels until year-end.
Concurrently, the Al-Anba daily said, the disparity between the estimated barrel price of $80 in the Kuwaiti budget for the fiscal 2023/2024 has widened.
Presently, the barrel price exceeds the budget estimate by approximately $16.7, surpassing the break-even price of $92.9 in the budget by $3.8 per barrel.
On the global market front, oil prices experienced an upswing in the previous trading session. Brent crude futures surged to $93 per barrel, marking the highest level since the start of 2023. This surge is attributed to market focus returning to expectations of dwindling crude supply in the remaining months of the year.
Brent crude futures contracts observed a gain of $1.21, or 1.32%, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $1.24, or 1.4%, reaching $89.76. Kuwaiti oil continues to exhibit price disparities with the international standard Brent crude, increasing by about $3.7 during trading.
Based on calculations by the daily, Kuwaiti oil’s selling prices since the start of the current fiscal year have reduced the anticipated deficit in the state’s general budget by approximately $3 per barrel. This difference is expected to grow with the anticipated rise in oil prices in the coming months.
Detailed data based on Kuwaiti oil selling prices from the beginning of the fiscal year 2023/2024 until now indicate that the average selling price per barrel has reached approximately $83, a $3 increase over the budgeted price of $80 per barrel.
September marked the initiation of notable jumps in oil selling prices. The first 7 trading days of the month recorded an average price of $94 per barrel, exceeding the state’s budgeted break-even price by about $1.1 per barrel. August witnessed the highest average barrel price in the last 5 months, reaching $88.74 on average. Kuwaiti oil surpassed the $90 per barrel mark twice during the month. In April, Kuwaiti oil prices were above the budgeted $80 per barrel, reaching a maximum of $89.45 and a minimum of $79.43.
July saw a notable increase in the average selling price per barrel, reaching $82.4. May was the first month to record trading at a price lower than the budgeted estimate, by approximately $2.7 per barrel. June marked the lowest average price of a barrel for the year, averaging around $76.6. The highest average price for June was $79.2 per barrel, and the lowest was $73.14 per barrel