Oil extends gains above $90/bbl
Shafaq News/ Oil prices climbed on Friday, extending sharp gains in the previous session as frigid weather swept across large swathes of the United States, threatening to further disrupt oil supplies.
Brent crude rose 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $91.53 a barrel by 0745 GMT, after rising $1.16 on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 52 cents, or 0.6%, to $90.79 a barrel, having gained $2.01 the previous day to settle above $90 for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014.
Both benchmarks are headed for their seventh straight weekly gain.
A massive winter storm swept across the central and Northeast United States on Thursday where it was delivering heavy snow and ice, making travel treacherous if not impossible, knocking out power to thousands and closing schools in several states.
As recovering demand is outpacing supply, oil markets remains increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions.
Geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have also fuelled oil's sharp gains which have pushed Brent and WTI futures up by about 18% and 21%, respectively, so far this year.
The United States warned that Russia was planning to use a staged attack as justification for invading Ukraine. Russia's President Vladimir Putin has blamed NATO and the West for increased tensions, even as he has moved thousands of troops near to Ukraine's border.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed earlier this week to stick to moderate rises of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in oil output with the group already struggling to meet existing targets and despite pressure from top consumers to raise production more quickly.
Over the medium term, however, some analysts expect the oil market to flip into surplus as soon as next quarter, helping put the brakes on the recent surge in prices.
