Oil Prices Reach 13-Month High

Brent crude oil futures for April increased 19 cents, 0.3%, to $67.23 a barrel by 0400 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for April was at $63.30 a barrel, higher 8 cents, 0.1%.

Both contracts reached their highest after January 2020 earlier in the session, with Brent at $67.44 and WTI at $63.67.

Confidence from the U.S. Federal Reserve that interest rates would linger low for a while raised investors’ risk appetite and global financial markets.

ING analysts said in a note that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments earlier in the week linking to the demand for monetary policy to continue accommodative have probably served. Still, sentiment in the oil market has also become more bullish, with expectations for a tightening oil balance.

A rare wintertime storm in Texas has created U.S. crude production to fall by more than 10%, or 1 million barrels per day (BPD), last week, the Energy Information Administration stated.

OPEC+ will review a humble easing of oil supply curbs on the meeting

Fuel supplies in the world’s largest oil consumer could also contract as its crude refinery inputs had fallen to the lowest after September 2008.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their partners, including Russia, a group is identified as OPEC+, is expected to meet on March 4.

The group will review a humble easing of oil supply curbs from April, given a recovery in OPEC+ sources’ prices. Nevertheless, some suggest holding steady for now, given the chance of new setbacks in the battle versus the epidemic.

Extra deliberate cuts by Saudi Arabia in February and March have contracted global supplies and supported prices.