Oil settles near 3-year peak ahead of OPEC+ meet

• Financial

On Friday, both US WTI (West Texas Intermediate) and UK crude oil futures’ prices had gained over 1.0 per cent with Brent settling above $78 a barrel and posting a fourth straight weekly percentage gain, hovering at a spitting distance to a three-year-peak breached earlier this week, as investors’ optimism seemingly had spurred up over prospects that OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) member countries would pledge to a steady supply amid an improved economic landscape in many parts around the globe over their latest meet scheduled to take place as early as on Monday.

In point of fact, in the week’s lofty gains in both US and UK crude oil futures’ prices, were almost entirely catapulted by a higher natgas prices around the globe, as a number of nations, mostly in Asia, had shifted to oil from natgas, ramping up demands of crude oil.

Aside from that, in the face of an improved economic landscape with oil demands stepping up in several parts of the globe where delta cases had subsided, OPEC alongside its Russia-backed allies had reportedly been facing off steep pressures to increase supplies.

Crude oil prices report fourth straight weekly percentage gains

Citing statistics, in the day’s commodity market wind-down, UK crude futures’ prices had gained 1.2 per cent to $79.28 a barrel, posting its fourth straight weekly percentage gain, while US WTI crude futures’ prices had climbed over 1.0 per cent to settle down the session at $75.88 a barrel, marking up a sixth straight week of gains.

On the week, US WTI crude oil futures gained 2.38 per cent, while Brent crude futures’ prices rose 1.45 per cent. Meanwhile, referring to an upscaled demand in crude oil prices, a senior market analyst at OANDA, Edward Moya, said, “If OPEC+ sticks to the script and only delivers the planned 400,000 bpd increase in November, energy markets will shortly be seeing $90 oil prices”.