SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices climbed on Friday, extending sharp gains in the previous session as frigid weather swept across large swathes of the United States, threatening to further disrupt oil supplies.
Brent crude rose 28 cents to $91.39 a barrel by 0712 GMT, after rising $1.16 on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 43 cents to $90.70 per barrel, having gained $2.01 the previous day to settle above $90 for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014.
Both benchmarks are headed for their seventh straight weekly gain.
“WTI crude surged over the $90 level after an Arctic blast made its way to Texas and disrupted some oil production in the Permian Basin,” Reuters quoted Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, as saying.
A massive winter storm swept across the central and Northeast United States on Thursday where it was delivering heavy snow and ice, making travel treacherous if not impossible, knocking out power to thousands and closing schools in several states, according to Reuters.
As recovering demand is outpacing supply, oil markets are increasingly vulnerable to supply shocks, Reuters cited analysts as saying.
“Even as thousands of flights are cancelled, the energy market is fixated over production and not so much short-term demand shocks,” said Moya.
