Oil prices extended their pre-weekend gains on Monday to hit multi-year highs, driven by tight global supply and strengthening demand for fuel in the United States and other countries as economies recover from pandemic crises.
Crude futures Brent they were up 81 cents, or 1%, to $ 86.34 a barrel, after rising 1.1 percent on Friday. Earlier Monday, they touched $ 86.43, their highest price since October 2018.
Oil futures West Texas Intermediate (WTI) of the United States added 86 cents, or 1%, to 84.62 dollars a barrel after advancing 1.5% on Friday. They hit their highest since October 2014 at $ 84.76 earlier this Monday.
Both benchmarks closed slightly higher last week, despite growing coronavirus cases in the UK and Eastern Europe, pointing to a potentially tough winter.
It appears that many still anticipate continued reductions in global inventories in the coming months and only a dent in demand growth could change underlying sentiment, “said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London-based brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Goldman Sachs said a strong rebound in global oil demand could push crude prices Brent above its year-end forecast of $ 90 a barrel. The bank estimated that the switch from gas to oil could contribute at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to oil demand.
After more than a year of reduced fuel demand, gasoline and distillate consumption is back in line with five-year averages in the United States, the world’s largest fuel consumer.
Meanwhile, US energy companies cut the number of active oil and natural gas rigs last week for the first time in seven weeks, despite rising oil prices, the energy services company said on Friday. Baker Hughes.
Oil prices have also been bolstered by concerns about coal and gas shortages in China, India and Europe, prompting the switch from fuel to diesel and fuel oil for power.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx