Amid optimistic demand expectations, the price of crude oil has made back all that it lost during the Covid-19 pandemic as oil futures finished the week by up to 5 per cent higher.
According to Valuechain findings, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, rose 4.6 per cent to the highest finish since May 21, 2019 to close the week at $71.89 a barrel after trading as high as $72.17 a barrel. Likewise, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures scored a 5 per cent weekly rise, marking the highest front-month contract finish since October 17, 2018, to reach $69.62 a barrel.
The price for OPEC Basket was recorded at $69.89 a barrel, Arab Light was available at $70.91 a barrel while the price of Russian Sokol reached $71.20 a barrel.
Valuechain recalls that in January 2020, crude oil traded in the $60 range for WTI but began to slide as the global economy went into a tailspin because of governments’ worldwide ordered lockdowns.
By the beginning of the second quarter, the WTI price had fallen to less than $20. Soft prices resulted in production declines in the US and around the world.
