- Supply disruptions boost oil prices.
- Brent advances to fresh monthly highs near $79.
- Reuters survey points to higher prices in the remainder of the year.
Following a consolidation phase during the first half of the day, crude oil extended its rally in the NA session with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate rising above $74 for the first time since November 2014. As of writing, the barrel of WTI was trading at $74.30, adding 85 cents, or 1.15% on the day.
Earlier today, Reuters published the results of a recent survey that it conducted with 35 economists and analysts. According to Reuters, Brent is expected to average $72.58 a barrel in 2018, 90 cents higher than the $71.68 forecast in last month’s poll while the WTI is now seen averaging $66.79 a barrel in 2018, compared with $66.47 forecast last month.
“A number of other geopolitical risks weigh on the global outlook, and these are likely to have a larger impact on prices than in previous years, when oil stocks were comfortable,” Cailin Birch, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told Reuters.
In the meantime, supply disruptions in Libya, Venezuela, and Canada, in addition to the larger-than-expected decrease in crude stocks in the U.S., provided extra fuel to crude oil throughout the week. Furthermore, investors continue to price the expectations of Iran’s supply getting cut from the markets on the U.S. & its allies sanctions.
For technical levels: Crude Oil WTI Technical Analysis
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