Crude futures, global oil benchmark, jumped more than two per cent to above $90 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest since October 2014 and extending a 2.2 per cent rise in the previous session, in line with a broader market recovery and amid possible supply disruptions if Russia invades Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also witnessed a corresponding increase of 1.96 per cent to $87.27 a barrel.
Over the past months, oil prices have continued to surge amid increasing demand for the commodity. Resilient global demand despite the Omicron wave and fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine supported prices.
Prices rose as the tension between the West and Russia over Ukraine continues.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said, commenting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis: “I have made it clear to — early on to President Putin that if he were to move into Ukraine, that there’d be severe consequences, including significant economic sanctions, as well as I’d feel obliged to beef up our presence — NATO’s presence in — on the eastern front: Poland, Romania, et cetera.” Fears of disruption of energy supply from Russia, a major exporter of oil and natural gas, especially to energy-crisis-stricken Europe, have rattled the commodity markets in recent days.
On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated the inventory draw this week for crude oil to be 872,000 barrels after analysts predicted a draw of 400,000 barrels.
“Last night the American Petroleum Institute reported a 0.9-million-barrel drop in US crude inventories, and the continued tightness can be seen in timespreads which continue to widen, especially in WTI where the March-April spread trades at a very elevated $1.2 per barrel,” Saxo Bank said in a daily market commentary on Wednesday morning.
In another bullish development for oil prices, more Chinese are expected to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday this year than in the previous two years, despite the Omicron spread, in a boost to fuel consumption in the world’s largest crude oil importer, according to data cited by Bloomberg. BY NSE ANTHONY-UKO, Abuja
Crude futures, global oil benchmark, jumped more than two per cent to above $90 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest since October 2014 and extending a 2.2 per cent rise in the previous session, in line with a broader market recovery and amid possible supply disruptions if Russia invades Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also witnessed a corresponding increase of 1.96 per cent to $87.27 a barrel.
Over the past months, oil prices have continued to surge amid increasing demand for the commodity. Resilient global demand despite the Omicron wave and fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine supported prices.
Prices rose as the tension between the West and Russia over Ukraine continues.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said, commenting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis: “I have made it clear to — early on to President Putin that if he were to move into Ukraine, that there’d be severe consequences, including significant economic sanctions, as well as I’d feel obliged to beef up our presence — NATO’s presence in — on the eastern front: Poland, Romania, et cetera.” Fears of disruption of energy supply from Russia, a major exporter of oil and natural gas, especially to energy-crisis-stricken Europe, have rattled the commodity markets in recent days.
On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated the inventory draw this week for crude oil to be 872,000 barrels after analysts predicted a draw of 400,000 barrels.
“Last night the American Petroleum Institute reported a 0.9-million-barrel drop in US crude inventories, and the continued tightness can be seen in timespreads which continue to widen, especially in WTI where the March-April spread trades at a very elevated $1.2 per barrel,” Saxo Bank said in a daily market commentary on Wednesday morning.
In another bullish development for oil prices, more Chinese are expected to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday this year than in the previous two years, despite the Omicron spread, in a boost to fuel consumption in the world’s largest crude oil importer, according to data cited by Bloomberg.
