By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
THE prices of crude oil on the international market yesterday fell to its one-month low of around US$54 a barrel on rising global inventories.
Western powers are hoping for concessions from Tehran that could help clinch an agreement in nuclear talks this week after the United States and European powers voiced a willingness to compromise on suspending United Nations (UN) sanctions.
According to Reuters, Brent for April dropped by  $1.34 to $53.33, its lowest since early February, before recovering some ground to trade around $54.00, down by 67 cents.
The United States (US) crude fell to $43.57 in early trading, its lowest since March 2009, before rebounding to around $44.35 per barrel.
Both benchmark crude futures contracts had fallen over the last two weeks on mounting evidence of a global surplus that was filling oil inventories rapidly.
World stockpiles are raising at a rate of 1.6 million barrels per day French bank Society Generale estimates, and it forecasts the build will accelerate to 1.7 million bpd in the second quarter.
“Another wave of weakness hit the oil markets last week, and we expect it to continue.
“The arithmetic works out to a combined build in crude oil and refined products of approximately 200 million barrels in March-June. Any way you slice it, this is bearish for prices,” Societe Generale oil analyst Michael Wittner said.
China has been taking advantage of low prices to build up its strategic petroleum reserves, but analysts say new spare capacity will only become available later this year, denting near-term import needs.
Lower oil prices have encouraged exploration and production companies to cut back on the number of oil and gas drilling rigs employed in the United States and elsewhere, but this trend will take some time to translate into lower output.
Goldman Sachs analysts said in a research report that a falling US rig count would only bring slightly lower production in the second quarter of this year.
Meanwhile, copper stumbled from a 10-day top hit the session before, as persistent strength in the US currency ahead of a key monetary policy meeting this week dampened commodities.
The prices for three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange drifted by 0.5 per cent to $5,835 a tonne, after closing little changed on Friday, when it hit its highest since March 3 2015 at $5,900 a tonne.
As for Gold, it was stuck near its lowest in over three months, pressured by a stronger dollar, also ahead of a key Federal Reserve policy meeting this week that could hint at the timing of any hike in US interest rates.
Spot gold slipped by 0.3 per cent to $1,155.36 an ounce, after posting its sixth weekly decline on Friday.
On the local market the Kwacha was trading against the United States Dollars in the range of K7. 20 to 7. 40 compared to K7. 00 /K7. 28 last week respectively.
A check at some of the bureaux showed that the local currency has continued depreciating.
At Coin Bureau De change in Lusaka, the Kwacha was buying and selling at K7. 30 and K7. 40 respectively while at Jit Bureau De-change it was between K7. 20 and 7. 42.