AGL 38.26 Increased By ▲ 0.56 (1.49%)
AIRLINK 141.00 Increased By ▲ 6.43 (4.78%)
BOP 5.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.55%)
CNERGY 3.84 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
DCL 7.60 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.29%)
DFML 46.19 Increased By ▲ 0.72 (1.58%)
DGKC 77.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.50 (-0.64%)
FCCL 29.28 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.03%)
FFBL 56.50 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (0.89%)
FFL 8.60 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.58%)
HUBC 98.69 Increased By ▲ 1.45 (1.49%)
HUMNL 14.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.63%)
KEL 3.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.79%)
KOSM 7.39 Increased By ▲ 0.60 (8.84%)
MLCF 36.70 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (1.1%)
NBP 68.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.80 (-1.15%)
OGDC 169.50 Increased By ▲ 2.50 (1.5%)
PAEL 25.40 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.28%)
PIBTL 6.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-2.67%)
PPL 131.00 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (0.38%)
PRL 25.11 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-1.1%)
PTC 15.64 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (2.56%)
SEARL 58.00 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (0.52%)
TELE 6.90 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.62%)
TOMCL 35.24 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (1.29%)
TPLP 7.73 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.71%)
TREET 14.10 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (1.37%)
TRG 44.69 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.69%)
UNITY 25.41 Increased By ▲ 0.33 (1.32%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,152 No Change 0 (0%)
BR30 27,234 No Change 0 (0%)
KSE100 85,840 No Change 0 (0%)
KSE30 27,234 No Change 0 (0%)
Markets

Oil prices gain as inventories fall and demand picks up

  • Positive risk sentiment boosts prices, says UBS analyst.
  • Goldman Sachs sees oil price rising to $65 by July.
  • OPEC oil output rose in January, but less than forecast.
Published February 1, 2021

LONDON: Oil prices rose on Monday buoyed by falling inventories and hopes of a swifter global economic recovery, although halting vaccine rollouts and renewed travel restrictions capped gains.

Brent crude was up 79 cents, or 1.4%, at $55.83 a barrel by 1215 GMT. US crude gained 61 cents, or 1.2%, to $52.81. Both benchmarks gained nearly 8% in January.

"Positive risk sentiment is one factor helping oil prices. The outlook of an ongoing decline in oil inventories over the coming weeks, as result of lower production from Saudi Arabia, is also helping crude," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

He said he expected Brent to hit $60 barrel by mid-year.

Goldman Sachs said prices could rise to $65 a barrel by July, forecasting an oil market deficit of 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2021, a higher level than its previous prediction of 500,000 bpd.

OPEC oil output rose for a seventh month in January, a Reuters survey found, after the group and its allies agreed to ease supply curbs further, although the production growth was smaller than expected.

"OPEC is continuing to implement the agreed production cuts in a disciplined manner ... which is one of the main reasons why oil prices are so stable," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

Russian oil and gas condensate production also increased in January, two sources told Reuters on Monday, but the increase was in line with expectations, following Moscow's deal with OPEC on output cuts.

US oil and gas drillers are gearing up for a pick-up in demand. As higher prices make new wells profitable again, they added rigs for a sixth month in a row in January.

US production data from the Energy Information Administration showed output rose above 11 million bpd in November, the first time it has exceeded that figure since April.

Oil also found some support from the dollar's weakness. Crude prices tend to move inversely to the US currency.

Comments

Comments are closed.