NEW YORK- Oil prices rose to their highest in over half a year and snapped a two-week losing streak, buoyed by expectations of tightening supplies.
Saudi Arabia is widely expected to extend a voluntary 1 million barrel per day oil production cut into October, prolonging supply curbs engineered by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known collectively as OPEC+, to support prices.
Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, has already agreed with OPEC+ partners to cut oil exports next month, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.
Brent crude settled up $1.66, or 1.9 percent , at $88.49 a barrel. Earlier it gained to a session high of $88.75 a barrel, the highest since Jan. 27.
US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) had risen $1.39, roughly 1.7 percent , to $85.02. It rose earlier to $85.81, the highest since Nov. 16.
Brent rose about 4.8 percent this week, the most it has increased in a week since late July.
WTI advanced by 7.2 percent in the week, its biggest weekly gain since March.
“There is a realization the economy is not falling off the map, and signs that demand is near record highs,” said Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn. “People have to face the cold, hard reality that supplies are below average.”
The appetite for oil in the United States has been robust, with commercial crude inventories declining in five of the most recent six weeks, according to surveys conducted by the US Energy Information Administration. – Reuters
