SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices rose on Monday as investors bet supply will remain tight amid restrained output by major producers with global demand unperturbed by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Brent crude futures rose 11 cents to $86.17 a barrel at 0556 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 30 cents at $84.12 per barrel.
Frantic oil buying, driven by supply outages and signs the Omicron variant won’t be as disruptive as feared for fuel demand, has pushed some crude grades to multi-year highs, Reuters cited traders as saying.
“The bullish sentiment is continuing as [producer group] OPEC+ is not providing enough supply to meet strong global demand,” Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd., told Reuters.
“If [investment] funds increase allocation weight for crude, prices could reach their highs of 2014,” he was quoted as saying.
OPEC and its allies, together called OPEC+, are gradually relaxing output cuts implemented when demand collapsed in 2020.
