Finance Minister Colm Imbert

Hours after Finance Minister announced that the national budget will be pegged on an oil price of US$45 a barrel, the prices of West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude rose on international markets.

The increases followed a report from the US Energy Department which showed that crude oil production declined by 120,000 barrels per day in September compared with August.

The agency also expects oil production to decline from an average of 9.2 million barrels per day this year to 8.9 million barrels per day in 2016.

WTI crude jumped US$2.27 to close at US$48.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils, rose US$2.67 to US$51.92 a barrel in London.

When he presented the $63 billion budget on Monday, Mr. Imbert also announced that the fiscal package was based on a gas price of US$2.74 mmbtu.