Oil continues to surge, Oman crude closes at $66.41

Oman Observer

Published: 1:02 AM, Mar 06, 2021

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Muscat: Oil prices jumped on Friday by more than two percent, to reach the highest level in nearly 14 months, after OPEC and its allies agreed not to increase supplies in April as they await a greater recovery of demand in light of the pandemic.

Subsequently, the price of Omani oil, for delivery next May, reached 66.41, an increase of $ 3.37 from Thursday's price of $ 63.04.

That the monthly average price of Omani crude oil for delivery in March reached $54.78 per barrel, up by $4.79 cents compared to the delivery price of last February.

Brent crude futures rose $1.75, or 2.6 percent, to $ 68.49 a barrel.

Analysts are revising their price forecasts to include continued supply constraints by OPEC Plus and shale oil producers in the United States who are curbing spending in order to boost investor returns.

The International Energy Agency expects world oil demand to grow by 5.4 million barrels per day in 2021 to reach 96.4 million barrels per day, recovering around 60% of the volume lost to the pandemic.

Demand will surge in the second half of this year as more vaccines are administered, the group said last month.

Still, there are concerns about the pace of vaccine distribution. Even in countries that have procured early access to doses, including the European Union, it's taking longer than expected to vaccinate the population. Further delays could weaken demand for crude later this year.

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