The U.S oil, popularly known as the West Texas Intermediate, hit $70 a barrel in the Asian session, for the first time since October 2018, as upbeat comments on the market from major trader Vitol Group added to optimism over the global demand recovery.
Futures climbed as high as 0.6% during the Asian trading session on Monday after posting a second straight weekly gain. Mike Muller, Vitol’s head of Asia, said at a conference that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC+) look to be in control of crude prices, with U.S. production covering pre-pandemic levels. OPEC+ is returning supply slowly as output cuts helped to tighten the market. Brent oil traded above $72.
Oil is in “strong demand right now,” with economies around the world opening up, Daniel Yergin, the oil historian and vice-chairman at IHS Markit Ltd., told Bloomberg Television last week. Optimism around rising fuel consumption is growing as the U.S., China and Europe rebound strongly from the pandemic.
U.S. Oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is however down at the start of the London session by 0.93%, trading $68.97 a barrel while the Brent crude is also down 1.04%, trading $71.12 a barrel, at the time of writing this report.
