Oil Seals Quarterly Gain With OPEC+ Curbs Tightening Market

(Bloomberg) -- Oil scored a 16% quarterly gain in the latest sign that export curbs by OPEC and its allies are reining in global supplies.

West Texas Intermediate futures closed above $83 a barrel on Friday, the highest settlement in more than a week. Timespreads this year have swung from bearish contango to a bullish backwardated structure — signaling a tightening physical market. 

The OPEC+ alliance extended daily supply cutbacks of about 2 million barrels through the end of June, underpinning expectations that global stockpiles will shrink. Prices have also been aided by Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and demand growth around the world.

In the US, key gauges of economic activity posted strong advances Thursday, pointing to healthy growth. That helped counter an increase in domestic crude and gasoline stockpiles that has undercut some of the supply tightness.

The bullish backdrop spurred some banks to warn there’s scope for higher prices. While sticking with existing forecasts, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said this week there’s a path for the international benchmark, Brent crude, to close in on triple-digits by September if the impact of Russia’s production cuts isn’t balanced out by countermeasures.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.