New York, Feb. 5 (BNA): Oil prices rose to their highest level in seven years on Friday, continuing their rise to the seventh week amid persistent concerns about supply disruptions fueled by cold weather in the United States and ongoing political turmoil among the world’s major producers. .
Brent crude rose $2.16, or 2.4 percent, to settle at $93.27 a barrel, after earlier touching its highest level since October 2014 at $93.70.
US West Texas Intermediate crude ended $2.04, or 2.3 percent, up at $92.31 a barrel after trading as high as $93.17, the highest level since September 2014.
Brent crude ended the week up 3.6 percent, while West Texas Intermediate crude recorded a 6.3 percent increase, its longest rise since October.
The market rally accelerated in the past two days as buyers piled into crude oil contracts on expectations that global suppliers will continue to struggle to meet demand.
US job numbers were surprisingly strong in January, despite the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Market analysts said this week that crude oil prices, which are already up about 20% so far this year, are likely to top $100 a barrel due to strong global demand.
Reflecting the bullish view, the money managers raised their net US crude futures and options contracts in the week ending February 1st by 6,616 contracts to 303,013 contracts, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said.
However, some see risks on the rise. Citi Research said it expects the oil market to turn into a surplus as soon as possible in the next quarter, halting the rally.
Bjornar Tonhaugen, President of Rystad Energy, said: “A rally towards $100 in crude oil should not be ruled out in the short term, but downside risks are plentiful, including Omicron setbacks to demand, economic growth concerns and financial market corrections as central banks struggle inflation”. Oil markets.
Winter storms that are causing icy conditions in the United States, particularly in Texas, have also fueled supply concerns as extreme cold could temporarily halt production, similar to what happened in the state a year ago.
The meager oil supply pushed the six-month market structure for West Texas Intermediate crude to a sharp decline at $9.06 a barrel on Friday, the widest since September 2013.
A pullback occurs when contracts for near-term delivery are priced higher than those of subsequent months – it reflects near-term demand that encourages traders to release oil from storage to sell immediately.
Energy services firm Baker Hughes said the number of US oil rigs, an early indicator of future production, rose twice to 497 this week, the highest level since April 2020.
Although the number of oil rigs has risen for 17 months in a row, the weekly increases have been mostly in single digits, and production is still far from record levels it was before the pandemic, with many companies focusing more on getting money back into the market. Investors rather than promoters. Produce.
Oil markets also gained support from geopolitical risks as major oil producer Russia masses thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border, and accuses the United States and its allies of stoking tensions.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, better known as OPEC+, agreed this week to stick to moderate increases in production, as the group already struggles to meet current targets and despite pressure from major consumers to ramp up production more quickly.
Iraq, the second largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), pumped well below its quota in OPEC+ in January, while OPEC+ member Kazakhstan wants to keep more of its oil production at home to counter rising fuel prices.
AOQ