Oman crude rises above $50 a barrel

The Sultanate’s crude oil benchmark, the Oman Crude Futures Contract, breached the $50/barrel mark for the first time in nine months on Friday in trend with other international benchmarks as crude prices surged on hopes that a rollout of COVID-19 vaccine would accelerate a global economic recovery. Oman Crude Futures Contract (OQD) gained $1.41 per barrel in trading on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) on Friday to settle at $50.57 per barrel (for deliveries in February 2021). International crude prices have benefited from, among other factors, a key decision by the grouping of 23 leading global oil producers last week to keep their landmark production cuts substantially in place, save for a marginal relaxation starting in January 2021. Renewed hopes of a rapid deployment of an array of vaccines against the novel coronavirus have also buoyed sentiment.