The price of Oman crude (for March 2022 delivery) jumped to $87.30 a barrel in trend with other international benchmarks as oil markets responded to rising tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
The Oman Crude Futures Contract gained $2.02 a barrel on Wednesday in trading on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), rising to levels last seen in 2014. The average price of Omani crude (for January 2022 delivery) stabilised at $80.26 a barrel, which was lower by $1.32 per barrel compared with the corresponding figure for December 2021 delivery.
Oil rose to around $89 a barrel on Wednesday, within sight of a seven-year high, supported by tight supply and geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East that raise concerns about further disruption, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Brent crude rose 73 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $88.93 at 1200 GMT. On Jan 20 it reached $89.50, the highest since October 2014. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 48 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $86.08.
“The market downside is limited due to heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the threat to infrastructure in the UAE,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.
Underlining a tight supply and demand balance, the weekly US inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed crude stocks fell by 872,000 barrels, market sources said.
In another key development, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, meets on Feb 2 to consider another output increase.
OPEC+ has been gradually unwinding 2020’s record output cuts, raising its monthly target by 400,000 barrels per day, though the actual increase in supply has fallen short of that as some countries struggle to raise production.
