WTI, Brent crude rises above $50 for first time this year
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Hamstrung oil producers could on Thursday afford a brief sigh of relief as the prices of both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil and Brent crude oil rose briefly above the psychologically important $50/bl mark in early trading.
WTI hit a high of $50.21/bl around 08:00 Eastern Daylight Time, while Brent crude peaked at about the same time at $50.51/bl.
The rallies were mainly driven by supply disruptions caused by raging wildfires in Canada’s Alberta oil patch – the biggest supplier of crude to the US market – which had taken out about one-million barrels a day, while growing global demand was adding momentum to a potential market recovery.
According to information provided by the US Energy Information Administration, US crude oil inventories fell by 4.2-million barrels to 537.1-million barrels in the week up to May 20.
WTI had risen 92% since recording its 12-year low of $26.14/bl on February 11, while Brent crude had, as of Thursday, risen 80% since it hit a 13-year low of below $28/bl at the start of the year.
The global oil industry was optimistic that the top oil-producing countries in the world would reach an agreement next month to curb the current production glut, while short-term disruptions to oil supplies helped to offset the stubbornly higher output from top producers Saudi Arabia and Iran, which refused to rein-in production for fear of losing market share. Militant attacks in Nigeria also restricted oil output.
Meanwhile, rising crude imports in developing economies such as China, Russia and India also spurred prices upwards, setting the stage for analysts to guess at the price potential for the critical commodity during the rest of the year.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
We supply customers with practical affordable solutions for their testing needs. Our products include benchtop, portable, in-line process control...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
