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- Despite rising Omicron cases around the world, the Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices both settled on Tuesday at one-month highs
- Brent crude ended the day at US$78.94 (A$109.34) a barrel, up 0.4 per cent, while WTI ended the day up 0.5 per cent at US$75.98 (A$105.24)
- Libya, Ecuador and Nigeria all declared forces majeures this month after part of their oil production was halted due to maintenance issues and shutdowns of oil fields
- OPEC+ has planned its next meeting for January 4, where a 400,000 barrel per day (BPD) production increase for February will be discussed
Despite rising Omicron cases around the world, the Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices both settled on Tuesday at one-month highs.
Brent crude ended the day at US$78.94 (A$109.34) a barrel, up 0.4 per cent, while WTI ended the day up 0.5 per cent at US$75.98 (A$105.24).
“The stock market appears poised to finish the year at or near record highs with easy spillover into the oil space pushing crude values higher,” Ritterbusch and Associates president Jim Ritterbusch said.
The three largest oil producers, Libya, Ecuador and Nigeria all declared forces majeures this month after part of their oil production was halted due to maintenance issues and shutdowns of oil fields.
UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo said the difficulties faced by the three producers can be expected to impact US oil inventories.
According to research conducted by Reuters, US crude oil inventory is likely to have dropped for the fifth consecutive week, while gasoline has remained largely the same.
Looking ahead, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) has planned its next meeting for January 4, where a 400,000 barrel per day (BPD) production increase for February will be discussed.
At OPEC’s most recent meeting, the plan to increase January oil production was agreed upon, despite the effects of Omicron.
