Yemisi Izuora a reporter from oriental news stated that analysts are confident in predicting that oil prices will reach $100 per barrel in the first six months of 2021 after surging more than 45 percent in the first six months of the year rallying toward $80 per barrel for the first time in more than two and a half years.
Analysts on Wall Street believe crude markets have the potential to rise even further in the coming months, though not everyone is convinced. On Friday, international benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $75.76 per barrel down about 0.11 percent. The oil contract gained more than 45 percent through the end of June, having started the year at $51.80.
The US West Texas Intermediate futures contract was trading at $74.28 in early London trade, down nearly 0.1 percent. WTI gained more than 51.4 percent during the first six months of the year
Brent futures rose more than 8% in June, while WTI rose more than 10%, reaching their highest levels since October 2018.
Analysts attribute the oil price rally to a combination of factors, including the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, a gradual easing of lockdown measures, and massive production cuts from OPEC and non-OPEC members of the OPEC+ energy alliance.
However, a number of uncertainties continue to cloud the outlook. The global spread of the delta COVID-19 variant has heightened fears of a drop-in oil demand, and the possibility of Iranian exports returning to the market remains unknown.
The recent development is a light at the end of the dark tunnel, as $100 will be the highest jump in International price of oil since the 2015 slump. This will definitely create more revenue earnings for the government to execute critical capital projects. But like a double edge sword, it’s also bound to an increase in price of AGO/PMS/DPK as the FG’s deregulation policy deems that the price of petroleum products reflects the International pricing system as well.
Source: Oriental news, Cnbc.com, Reuters.
