Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports fell to their lowest in eight months in February, the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) said on Monday.
Crude exports fell to 5.625 million barrels per day (bpd), their lowest since June 2020 in February, from 6.582 million bpd in the prior month.
Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other OPEC members to JODI, which publishes them on its website.
Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, voluntarily cut output by one million bpd in February, March, and April as part of a deal with OPEC+ producers after new virus variants cast doubts over fuel demand.
Meanwhile, Oil prices edged higher on Monday, supported by a weaker US dollar but gains were capped by concerns about the impact on demand from rising coronavirus cases.
Brent crude settled up 28 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $67.05 a barrel, after rising six percent last week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US oil ended the session up 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $63.38 a barrel, having gained 6.4 percent last week.
The US dollar traded at a six-week low versus major peers on Monday, with Treasury yields hovering near their weakest in five weeks.
A weaker dollar makes oil cheaper for holders of other currencies.
However, COVID-19 cases have surged in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, dampening optimism for a sustained global recovery in demand.
India reported a record rise in infections, which lifted overall cases to just over 15 million, making the country the second-worst affected after the United States, which has reported more than 31 million infections.
“This new wave of measures, while so far likely to be less stringent than what we saw in March 2020, when gasoline and gasoil/diesel demand in the country fell by close to 60 percent, is nevertheless set to weigh on transportation fuel consumption,” consultancy JBC said.
