(Bloomberg) — Oil held near the highest close in three months as a risk-on mood in wider markets and signs OPEC+ members are complying with supply cuts overshadowed a gloomy demand outlook from the IEA.
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West Texas Intermediate traded above $78 a barrel after rising 1.8% on Thursday to its highest close since Nov. 14, while Brent crude was below $83. Oil’s gains came as US equities closed at another record, and the dollar eased, making commodities more attractive for overseas buyers.
Crude has been grinding its way higher despite concerns highlighted by the Paris-based International Energy Agency that oil markets could be in surplus all year as global demand growth loses steam. US benchmark WTI is on course for its fourth weekly gain in the past five.
OPEC+ has been implementing supply cuts to support prices. Russia has nearly reached its target for voluntary reductions for the first time since making the pledge last year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data for January. Elsewhere, Iraq and Kazakhstan have pledged compliance with their targets after failing to fully cut production as promised last month.
In the Middle East, meanwhile, exchanges of fire between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel intensified in a further escalation of the week’s cross-border fire that’s raising alarm of a wider war. In Gaza, Israel arrested dozens of Hamas combatants in Nasser Hospital, with grenades and mortar shells also found.
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