LONDON/VIENNA – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will raise shipments through mid-February as a winter demand peak in the northern hemisphere approaches, according to tanker tracker Oil Movements. The group that supplies about 40 percent of the world's oil will export 23.6 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Feb. 16, up 100,000 barrels, or 0.4 percent, from the previous period, the researcher said in a report. Those figures exclude Angola and Ecuador. “Numbers are going up, but it's a modest increase, and the peak will also be modest,” Roy Mason, the company's founder, said by phone from Halifax, England. Shipments will continue to rise at a similar pace for another two weeks, until late-February when seasonal demand starts to decline, he said. Middle East shipments will increase 0.6 percent to 17.2 million barrels a day in the period, compared with 17.1 million in the four weeks to Jan. 19, according to Oil Movements. That figure includes non-Opec members Oman and Yemen. Crude on board tankers will average 466.1 million barrels, down 1.8 percent on the previous period, the data show. Oil Movements calculates the volumes by tallying tanker bookings. Its figures exclude crude held on vessels for storage. Brent oil prices struck a fresh three-month high on Friday, boosted by the weak dollar and Chinese data, as traders awaited key economic figures in top crude consumer the United States, dealers said. In early afternoon London deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March rallied to $115.97 per barrel – which was the highest level since October 15. The Brent contract later stood at $115.88, which marked a gain of 32 cents from Thursday's closing level. Elsewhere, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March, or West Texas Intermediate (WTI), dropped 26 cents to $97.23 a barrel. “Crude oil prices consolidate ahead of the release of the crucial US non-farm payroll data that will set the tone for today's trading session,” said analyst Myrto Sokou at the Sucden brokerage in London. “WTI crude oil is holding above $97 per barrel, while Brent oil remains fairly strong, climbing toward $116. “The dollar remains fairly weak, providing strong support and further upside momentum to the oil market.” The European single currency surged to $1.3675, its highest level since November 2011, following upbeat manufacturing data in the eurozone. The weaker greenback makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies like the euro. This tends to boost demand and prices. The oil market was also buoyed by growing optimism over the US and European economies, ahead of the key US non-farm payrolls report at 1330 GMT. — Agencies
