On Monday, crude oil prices hit multi-year highs on the back of recovering demand, along with the high prices for natural gas and coal which prompted many users to shift to fuel oil and diesel.
By 09.00 GMT, Brent crude futures inched up by 0.7% or 59 cents to USD85.45/barrel after touching USD86.04/barrel earlier, the highest since October 2018. US WTI crude futures jumped by 1.1% or 90 cents to USD83.18/barrel after hitting the highest level since October 2014 at USD83.73/barrel.
In the previous week, both contracts rose by at least 3%.
In the fourth quarter, easing movement restrictions globally will push prices up even more, along with the gas-to-oil switching movement which could raise demand by up to 450,000 bpd.
Other than that, the cold temperatures in the world’s northern hemisphere would likely aggravate the oil supply deficit. Moreover when OPEC+ and the US would not raise supply.
