Oil prices up by more than $1 per barrel amid expectations of tight supplies

Oil prices rose by more than a dollar per barrel today, Thursday, after falling for two consecutive sessions, due to the possibility of scarcity of supplies in light of fixed expectations that the OPEC + producer alliance will continue the path of current production cuts.

According to CNBC, Brent crude futures for May rose $1.39, or 1.61%, to close at $87.48 per barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.82, or 2.24%, to settle at $83.17 per barrel.

During the week, both benchmarks rose more than 2% and were on track to finish higher for the third month in a row.

In the previous session, oil prices were under pressure from last week’s unexpected rise in US crude oil and gasoline inventories, driven by an increase in crude imports and a slowdown in gasoline demand, according to Energy Information Administration data.

However, the increase in crude oil inventories was less than the increase expected by the American Petroleum Institute, and analysts noted that the increase was less than expected for this time of year.

In this context, SEB analyst Bjarne Schildrup said: “We expect US inventories to rise less than usual in a reflection of the global oil market, which is witnessing a slight deficit.” “This is likely to support the price of Brent crude in the future,” he added.

US refinery operating rates, which rose 0.9 percentage points last week, also helped support prices.