Oil cracks $60 after OPEC report says 2018 will be a year of higher demand

pulse

February 12, 2018 4:17 PM

The price of Brent Crude Oil and West Texas Intermediate jumped above $60 on Monday on news that Opec expects higher demand in 2018.

Last week's selloff took oil off its 2018 highs.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil is back above $60 a barrel after last week's selloff sent below that level for the first time this year. WTI dipped to nearly $58 last week from a high of $66 on January 25, but Monday's gain of 1.76%, which came after OPEC said it expects higher oil demand this year, has the energy component trading at $60.09.

OPEC said the healthy world economy should provide the backdrop for faster-than-expected oil demand, Reuters reported. The cartel expects demand to rise by 1.59 million barrels per day in 2018, up by 60,000 barrels from its previous forecast.

However, the higher prices will also encourage non-member producers, such as the US, to pump more oil, contributing to a worldwide glut.

OPEC producers agreed to cut supply in November 2016 in order to reduce the glut that had accumulated over the previous two years. OPEC's production declined in January, the organization reported.

Meanwhile, OPEC expects non-OPEC producers to increase their supply by 1.4 million barrels this year. The organization maintained that the market will eventually "return to balance"by the end of the year.

Brent Crude, the international benchmark, was trading up 1.37% at $63.62.

pulse

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng