Oil jumps more than 4 per cent after OPEC+ output cut

• Financial

On Friday, both US WTI (West Texas Intermediate) alongside UK crude oil futures’ prices had spiked over 4 per cent to a fresh five-week peak, largely boosted up by an OPEC+ decision to slash output by 2 million barrels per day or a 2.0 per cent of the world’s entire oil output.

Besides, oil prices had extended its latest run of winning streak into a fifth straight day, even as the US Dollar continued to bolster amid an increase in risk of a recession. In a normal circumstance, a stronger US Dollar usually pushes oil prices down, however, amid anticipation that the 14-member OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) alongside their Russia-led allies would push for a steeper output cut at their first in-person meet since 2020, crude oil futures’ prices continued to rise.

Besides, PVM analysts were quoted saying in a client note earlier in the day that oil prices would highly likely to return to $100 a barrel. Aside from that, as OPEC+ member states had continued to ignore calls from US President Joe Biden to increase output, US President Joe Biden was quoted saying that the US has been mulling alternatives after large OPEC+ output cut.

On top of that, a number of industry analysts and economists were quoted saying followed by the remarks from Biden that the days of a $5-per-litre gasoline in the US might soon be over.

Oil jumps after OPEC+ output cut

Citing statistics, on Friday’s commodity market wind-down, the UK crude oil futures’ prices jumped as much as 3.7 per cent to $97.92 a barrel, while US WTI crude oil futures’ prices gained 4.7 per cent to $92.64 per barrel.

US heating oil futures’ prices jumped nearly 19 per cent this week, which had not been far from a blistering upsurge in energy prices in Europe.