Islamabad
Global prices for crude oil ended the fifth straight week on a positive note and climbed to their highest since October 2018 on expectations that demand growth will outstrip supply and OPEC+ will be cautious in returning more crude to the market from August.
Both benchmarks remained up for a fifth week in a row. Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained 0.82 percent to reach $76.18 a barrel. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $74.05, up 1.02 percent.
The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $74.09 a barrel with 0.11 percent increase, Arab Light was available at $74.71 a barrel with 0.05 percent increase, while the price of Russian Sokol reached $74.88 after gaining 0.09 percent.
According to analysts, oil prices have been supported in recent weeks, benefiting from the ongoing decline in global oil inventories as oil demand continues to grind higher, although unevenly.
With larger oil inventory declines ahead, there is expectation that oil prices will keep moving higher during the third quarter of this year, they said.—Agencies
