Oil prices ended mostly unchanged on Monday, after hitting their highest levels in more than two years, as growing U.S. crude production and Britain’s delayed COVID-19 reopening dampened expectations for fuel demand growth and tighter supplies.
The market reacted negatively to a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast that shale oil output, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. production, was expected to rise by about 38,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July to about 7.8 million bpd. Brent settled up 17 cents at $72.86 a barrel.
Earlier in the session, it reached $73.64 a barrel, its highest since April 2019. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 3 cents to settle at $70.88 a barrel, after earlier touching $71.78 a barrel, its highest since October 2018.
The International Energy Agency said on Friday that it expected global demand to return to pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2022, more quickly than previously anticipated.
The IEA urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, to increase output to meet demand. OPEC+ has been restraining production to support prices after the pandemic wiped out demand in 2020, maintaining strong compliance with agreed targets in May. [REUTERS]
