SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending strong gains made in previous sessions on expectations of tighter supplies until the end of the year.
Brent crude rose 59 cents to $72.82 a barrel at 1158 GMT, after rising 4.2% in the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 60 cents at $70.90 per barrel, after rising 4.6% on Wednesday.
“Some soft spots have emerged in the oil demand recovery, but this is unlikely to change the outlook fundamentally,” Reuters Morgan Stanley as saying.
OPEC+, a group including OPEC, Russia and their allies, agreed this week on a deal to boost oil supply by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) from August to December to cool prices and meet growing demand.
But demand was still set to outstrip supply in the second half, leading Brent prices to trade in the mid to high-$70s per barrel for the remainder of 2021, Morgan Stanley told Reuters.
“In the end, the global GDP [gross domestic product] recovery will likely remain on track, inventory data continues to be encouraging, our balances show tightness in H2 and we expect OPEC to remain cohesive,” it said.
*This story was updated at 02:59 p.m. EBL time
