U.S. oil prices climb on OPEC report
Xinhua,April 13, 2018 Adjust font size:
NEW YORK, April 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. oil prices rose on Thursday as the latest OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) report indicates higher demand later this year.
In its monthly report on Thursday, OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand growth for this year by 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.63 million bpd. Moreover, the group said its collective output fell by 201,000 bpd to 31.96 million bpd in March from February, driven by declines in countries such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Libya.
OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said on Thursday that the global oil glut has effectively shrunk by nine-tenths since the start of 2017, according to Reuters.
In the previous session, both U.S. and Brent oil price on Wednesday hit their highest intraday level since late 2014 amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery rose 0.25 U.S. dollar to settle at 67.07 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery lost 0.04 dollar to close at 72.02 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem