Demand Increases, ICP Price March 2018 Thin Rise

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - After briefly declining in February 2018, Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) in March 2018 edged up by US $ 0.26 per barrel to 61.87 per barrel from February to US $ 61.61 per barrel.

One of the factors driving the rise in ICP is the increasing demand for crude oil in the international market.

The Indonesian oil price team noted that based on International Energy Agency (IEA) data, global oil demand is expected to increase by 1.5 million barrels per day to 99.3 million barrels per day by 2018, an increase of 90 thousand barrels per day compared to monthly report previous.

A similar opinion was also made by The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which said that the additional world oil demand of 1.6 million barrels per day in 2018.

So it is predicted that crude oil demand averaged 98.63 million barrels per day, slightly higher than the previous month's forecast.

In addition, the economic and infrastructure development programs taking place in South Korea and India have prompted crude oil demand in the region to soar. This is also known to impact on rising global oil prices, especially the Asia Pacific region.

Another factor contributing to the rise in ICP is the rising price of major crude oil in the international market. In addition to rising demand, US distillate fuel oil stocks in March 2018 also declined by 9 million barrels, while gasoline stocks fell by 12.2 million barrels compared to February.

The rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region have also impacted the rising global crude oil prices. Based on information from Reuters March 26, 2018, the launch of Houthi Yaman ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia also heated the geopolitical conditions of the Middle East.

For information, the development of the average price of major crude oil on the international market in March 2018 compared to February 2018 also increased:

- Dated Brent rose by US $ 0.71 per barrel from US $ 65.19 per barrel to US $ 65.90 per barrel.

- Brent (ICE) rose by US $ 0.99 per barrel from US $ 65.73 per barrel to US $ 66.72 per barrel.

- WTI (Nymex) rose by US $ 0.59 per barrel from US $ 62.18 per barrel to US $ 62.77 per barrel.

- OPEC basketball (up to March 28, 2018) rose by US $ 0.17 per barrel from US $ 63.48 per barrel to US $ 63.65 per barrel.