Oil rose to around $69 a barrel on Tuesday, a day after jumping above $70 for the first time in over a year as investors focused on prospects for tighter supply due to extended OPEC+ output curbs and amid growing hopes of a recovery in demand, according to a report from Reuters.
Brent crude was up 51 cents, or 0.8%, at $68.75 by 1200 GMT, after trading as low as $67.61. It reached $71.38 on Monday, the highest since Jan. 8, 2020.
Crude exports from Saudi Arabia’s oil terminals at Ras Tanura were proceeding normally on March 8, according to commodity data company Kpler and reported by hellenicshippingnews.com, a day after a drone attack targeted the port but did no damage.
OPEC+ last week re-committed to boosting the price of oil by sticking with output cuts, and Saudi Arabia said it would extend its 1 million barrel-a-day cut. Almost 5 million bpd of OPEC production has been off the markets since May last year.
As a result, “Dips have been lately viewed as buying opportunities,” said Tamas Varga of broker PVM to Reuters. “Last week’s OPEC+ meeting will ensure that the global oil balance will get tighter in the foreseeable future.”
Prices also rose on expectations of economic recovery after the U.S. Senate approved a $1.9 trillion stimulus package.