SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices extended gains on Monday as the market kicked off 2022 on a positive note with supplies in focus ahead of Tuesday’s OPEC+ meeting.
Brent crude futures rose 65 cents to $78.43 a barrel as of 0605 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 65 cents to $75.86 per barrel.
“Tightened supplies from Libya ahead of an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) meeting kept the market sentiments positive,” Reuters quoted Abhishek Chauhan, head of commodities at Swastika Investmart Ltd, as saying.
OPEC+ will probably stick to their plan to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply in February, Reuters cited four sources as saying.
Last year, oil prices rose around 50%, spurred by the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic slump and producer restraint, even as infections reached record highs worldwide.
A survey of 35 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude would average $73.57 a barrel in 2022, about 2% lower than the $75.33 consensus in November, according to Reuters.
U.S. crude is projected to average $71.38 per barrel in 2022, versus the previous month’s $73.31 consensus.
