SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices were mixed on Thursday as strong demand and short-term supply disruptions continue to support prices close to their highest levels since late 2014.
Brent crude futures fell 14 cents to $88.30 a barrel, as of 0457 GMT, having dropped more than $1 earlier in the session.
The global benchmark touched $89.17 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest since October 2014.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 13 cents to stand at $87.09 a barrel, having also shed nearly $1 earlier. WTI climbed to as much as $87.91 on Wednesday, the highest since October 2014.
“The International Energy Agency said global oil demand is on track to hit pre-pandemic levels,” Reuters quoted analysts at ANZ bank as saying.
“Shorter-term supply disruptions are also helping tighten markets. Brent crude rallied sharply after reports a key oil pipeline running from Iraq to Turkey was knocked out by an explosion.”
However, the flow of crude oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has resumed, after it was halted on Tuesday due to a blast near the pipeline in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
