US Oil Reaches Highest Level Since 2014 Amid Global Energy Crisis


Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing Oil Hub in Cushing, Oklahoma on March 24, 2016. REUTERS / Nick Oxford / File Photo

  • OPEC + Supply Concerns Support WTI and Brent Crude Oil
  • Prices rise despite API data showing signs of slowing demand

SINGAPORE, Oct. 6 (Reuters) – U.S. oil prices rose for a fifth day on Wednesday to their highest level since 2014 amid global concerns over energy supplies following signs of strain in crude markets , natural gas and coal.

Brent crude prices also climbed for a fourth day amid supply concerns, especially after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC + , decided on Monday to maintain their planned production increase rather than boost it further.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil hit $ 79.47 a barrel, the highest since November 2014. The market was up 0.53%, or 42 cents, to $ 79.35 a barrel, at 0652 GMT.

Brent crude added 0.8%, or 66 cents, to $ 83.22 a barrel, trading near the three-year high of the last session.

On Monday, OPEC + agreed to join its July pact to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month until at least April 2022, gradually phasing out 5.8 million bpd of production cuts. existing. Read more

“Crude oil has extended its gains as investors worry about the tightening of the market as the energy crisis increases demand,” ANZ said in a note.

“The increase (of OPEC +) was far less than the market expected, given the energy crisis in the world. Unsurprisingly, there is speculation that OPEC will be forced to move before the next one. meeting scheduled if demand continues to increase. “

At the end of last month, the OPEC + Joint Technical Committee (JTC) said it expected a supply shortfall of 1.1 million bpd this year, which could turn into a surplus of 1.4 million bpd next year.

Oil prices have jumped more than 50% this year, adding to inflationary pressures that fear crude-consuming countries like the United States and India could derail the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

Despite the pressure to increase production, OPEC + feared that a global fourth wave of COVID-19 infections could affect the recovery in demand, a source told Reuters shortly before the talks on Monday.

However, inventory data from the United States, the world’s largest consumer of oil, has shown signs of slowing demand for fuel.

The American Petroleum Institute reported that US oil inventories had risen by 951,000 barrels in the week to Oct. 1, the OilBook website reported on Tuesday.

Inventories of gasoline and distilled fuel also rose, the website reported, citing data from the API.

Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Edited by Christian Schmollinger

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