At the beginning of August 2012, there was a steady rise in oil prices, which, of course, is a positive moment for the Russian raw materials economy. This growth is taking place against the backdrop of hopes that European investors associate with the plans of the ECB (European Central Bank) to purchase government bonds of the eurozone countries in the secondary market and that these plans will coincide with the real intentions of the regulator.
The main reason why world oil prices are growing, experts say, the information published in the United States that the reduction of hydrocarbon reserves in the country has significantly exceeded market expectations. The Ministry of Energy released data according to which oil reserves in the first week of August fell by 3.73 million barrels and reached their lowest level since April 13 at 369.9 million barrels. Market experts predicted a drop in this indicator by only 1.55 million barrels. A similar trend affected the gasoline inventories, which fell by 724 thousand barrels, while the forecasts were expected to increase by 250 thousand barrels. Distiller stocks decreased by 1.8 million barrels, which is almost in line with forecasts - 1.75 million barrels. This resulted in a sharp rise in the price of oil - on the London Stock Exchange, September 8 Brent oil futures transactions were carried out at a price of up to $ 112.6 per barrel. On the New York Stock Exchange, September futures contracts for WTI crude oil were traded at $ 94.25 per barrel and rose 0.62%. During August, oil continued to rise in price and already on the 22nd day, futures deals for October for light WTI crude oil were made at a price of $ 96.97 per barrel, while Brent oil cost $ 114.78. The rise in price was again due to a further decrease in hydrocarbon reserves in the United States. Inflationary expectations and the rise in oil prices are also associated with rumors that the ECB is going to buy back bonds with a maturity of no more than three years, while it is planned that the volume of purchases will be unlimited, the regulator is not going to receive the status of a senior creditor for the purchased government bonds. The European Central Bank, according to sources close to its leadership, will not publicly set a fixed level of yield on bonds of a particular country, so the regulator will not buy securities when this level is exceeded.
