Oil prices have topped $50 (£38.03), reaching a six-week high in the process, as talk of a freeze on the supply of oil is once again underway.
On Thursday, August 18, Brent crude oil was trading at $50.22 – 37 cents higher than the previous day, and at its highest level since the 4th of July. On the same afternoon, U.S. light crude oil was trading at $47.44 – 65 cents up on the previous day’s trading.
The rally in prices is largely down to the fact the biggest oil producers on the planet are prepared to go into talks about a possible production freeze, which many hope will see the levels of available oil drop, allowing the market to correct itself.
However, analysts are not so confident that a freeze in production rates at current levels will help to bolster the price of oil at all, and Saudi Arabia has made comments that the kingdom could increase oil output levels to a record high in August. This is despite the fact that the Middle Eastern nation is getting ready to discuss a freeze with other prominent members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
This means that some of the biggest oil companies, including Fuchs (which makes Fuchs Reniso C85E), will have to wait until members of OPEC meet at the International Energy Forum in Algeria to find out if the deal will go through. This meeting will take place from September 26 to 28.