SINGAPORE- Oil prices jumped by more than $1 on Tuesday, as US output was slow to return after a deep freeze in Texas shut in crude production last week.
Shale oil producers in the southern United States could take at least two weeks to restart the more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude output that shut down because of cold weather, as frozen pipes and power supply interruptions slow their recovery, sources said.
Brent crude was up $1.06, or 1.6 percent, at $65.30 a barrel after earlier hitting a high of $66.38. US crude rose 81 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $62.51 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $62.73. Both benchmarks have risen more than 1 percent after climbing nearly 4 percent in the previous session.
“The positive momentum continues in the oil complex, with investors unabashedly predisposed to a bullish view,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi in a note.
Goldman Sachs Commodities Research raised its Brent crude oil price forecasts by $10 for the second and third quarters of 2021, citing lower expected inventories, higher marginal costs to restart upstream activity and speculative inflows.
