Islamabad
Oil prices are likely to continue their ongoing rally after both global benchmarks ending the week more than 3 percent higher following continued shortages in the global economy.
Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained 3 percent over the week and settled 1.02 percent higher at $84.86 per barrel on Friday. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 3.7 percent for the week and closed 1.2 percent higher at $82.28 per barrel.
The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $82.50 a barrel, Arab Light was available at $83.45 a barrel, while the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $86.20.
The experts pointed to a sharp drop in OECD oil stockpiles to their lowest level since 2015. Demand has picked up with the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with a further boost coming from industry turning away from expensive gas and coal to fuel oil and diesel for power.
They said the fact that Asian markets are content to chase prices higher at weekly highs, instead of lurking on price dips.—TLTP
