Oil climbs on demand outlook
Oil prices soared on Wednesday amid signals of rapid economic recovery and optimistic forecast signals of energy demand backed by vaccines against COVID-19, despite waves of infections in India and Brazil limiting gains.
Brent crude oil rose 83 cents, or 1.2%, to $ 69.38 a barrel at 1116 GMT. West Texas Intermediate US crude oil rose 85 cents, or 1.3%, to $ 66.13.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report that the demand for oil will exceed the production of major producers.
However, the expected increase in supply for the remainder of this year does not seem close to match demand forecasts beyond the second quarter.
Oil prices are also supported by the outlook of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which predicts a strong recovery in world oil demand in 2021.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group showed that US crude oil stocks fell 2.5 million barrels in the week of May 7. The decline preceded before the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline ( carrying more than 2.5 million barrels of fuel per day) last Friday. Which caused the pipeline to be closed.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later in the day.
Fuel was almost exhausted as pump prices soared at gas stations from Florida to Virginia on Tuesday as drivers competed to fill their tanks against a possible price hike.
US unleaded gasoline prices reached an average of $ 2.99, the highest since November 2014.
While the prolonged pause supports refined product prices, it may begin to put pressure on crude oil prices if refineries on the US Gulf Coast are forced to lower transaction rates due to increased refined stocks.
The Colonial Pipeline operator said he hopes to restart a large part of the network by the end of the week.
Oil was also supported by the favorable economic data of Britain, while the figures for Germany and France were largely in line with the forecasts.
Eyes focused on April US consumer price data to be released later in the day.
