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In its report, OPEC pointed to the uncertainty facing the oil market in the coming months, decreasing its global demand estimate for the first half of the year due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions but increasing its demand forecast for the second half of the year as “economic activity is expected to accelerate as the impact of the pandemic is expected to taper off.” Oil prices rose Thursday , with Brent crude oil—the global benchmark—up 2.5% at $69.63 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, climbing 2.5% to $66.02 a barrel. Crude prices have risen more than 80% from their late-October lows and that rally has accelerated in recent weeks, with OPEC choosing to keep supply tighter for longer. In its report, the cartel noted that the crude stocks of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s rich nations dropped in January to 46 million barrels above the 2015-2019 average, with all three major global regions winnowing down the supply glut they built up during the worst of the pandemic. Newsletter Sign-up Markets A pre-markets primer packed with news, trends and ideas. Plus, up-to-the-minute market data. SUBSCRIBE Still, prices have swung so far this week with some […]
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