ISLAMABAD: Crude oil prices rose for the third straight week up to 8.85 percent after 2.15 percent and 4.13 percent increases in the preceding weeks, reaching a two-month high.
According to details, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $78.90 from $75.21, up by 4.91 percent during the week. The lowest closing for the week, $75.90, remained on Monday while the highest closing  for the week was on Thursday at $79.46.
Similarly, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, increased 5.10 percent during the week to reach $81.75 from $77.78 a barrel. The lowest closing for the week was $75.95 on Monday while the highest closing was observed on Friday at $81.75.
During the week, the price for Opec Basket surged 8.85 percent from $74.23 to $80.80 a barrel, Arab Light price increased 6.10 percent to reach $82.27 from $77.54 and the price of Russian Sokol jumped 7.05 percent to $83.36 from $77.87 a barrel.
The oil demand remained steady despite a high number of Covid-19 infections and amid tight supply due to operational disruptions in some oil-producing countries. Oil prices continued to climb at the end of the week as unrest in Kazakhstan and lower output from Libya further hamper producers’ ability to gradually return to pre-pandemic levels.
Protests broke out last week in Kazakhstan, an important oil producer and Opec+ member, over a fuel price increase. This led to large-scale violence across the country. On the other hand, production in Libya, also an Opec member, dropped due to pipeline maintenance works that have contributed to higher crude prices. The current strength in energy prices can be largely attributed to the overall supply tightening narrative.
On the other hand, Opec+, which is led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, decided to add another 400,000 barrels of oil per day to the market in February as the group expects continued demand for crude. Last month, Opec raised its global oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 but left its full-year growth projection unchanged as it expected the Omicron variant to have a mild impact on demand.
The Opec+ expects crude demand to average 99.13 million bpd in the first quarter of 2022, up 1.11 million bpd from its forecast in November. World oil demand growth remained unchanged at 4.2 million bpd for the full year and total global consumption stood at 100.6 million bpd.
