Oil prices rose in the first half of Thursday, but then fell sharply after the announcement of the results of the OPEC + meeting.

The alliance at its meeting on Thursday decided to stick to the previously agreed plan to increase oil production monthly, increasing it by 400,000 barrels per day since December, writes Prime.

The decision did not come as a surprise to the markets, but the players decided to take profits.

OPEC and its allies did not succumb to pressure from the administration of US President Joe Biden and decided not to increase production beyond planned.

“There are at least 12 reasons why OPEC + decided to stick with the previous plan, despite pressure from the US, India and Japan,” says the Energy Outlook.

Bank of America raised its 2022 Brent forecast from $ 75 to $ 85. The forecast for WTI for next year has been raised from $ 71 to $ 82. In the options market, the price of Brent crude is expected to be at $ 200 by December 2022.

The reasons for the rise in price will be the replacement of gas with oil, an increase in the number of air flights and an increase in world prices for gas and coal.

Meanwhile, the rise in oil prices may be limited by the prospect of bringing strategic oil reserves to the market. The US has strategic oil reserves of 612.5 million barrels, followed by China, followed by Japan and South Korea.

According to Bloomberg, the Biden administration is discussing an emergency sale of oil from the strategic reserve, which stood at 612.5 million barrels at the end of October.

Recall that last year OPEC + cut production by 10 million barrels per day. After a year and a half, the cartel countries returned to the market only 60% of the seized supplies.