OPEC basket price eases to around $80 a barrel in latest reading

BAGHDAD, Iraq — OPEC's reference basket price fell to roughly $80 a barrel in its latest reading, according to data published by the group. The basket, a weighted average of crude grades produced by member countries, serves as one of the group's key benchmark indicators. The figures show a volatile stretch over recent months. After starting June around $120, the basket dropped to about $70 in early July, climbed back above $100 by the end of that month, and then eased again into the $80 band during August. Weekly readings traced a similar arc, sliding from roughly $117 in early June to $72 by early July before rebounding past $90 and pulling back toward $80. Earlier in the year, prices had hovered between $60 and $70 before rising above $115 in the spring, then easing back below $80 in the most recent monthly data. OPEC publishes the basket price as a reference indicator calculated from the production-weighted average of its member countries' crude grades.