(New York) Oil prices climbed again on Thursday, to the highest since November, still driven by fears of insufficient supply in the face of demand for black gold which is not weakening, with, now, in view, the psychological threshold of 100 dollars per barrel.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in November appreciated by 1.98%, to close at $93.70.
As for the American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with maturity in October, it advanced 1.85%, to $90.16. WTI had not crossed the $90 mark since the beginning of November.
“The trend continues,” commented Andy Lipow, of Lipow Oil Associates, with WTI rising 14% in three weeks, while Brent rose almost 13%.
Estimates published Tuesday by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with a supply deficit of 3.3 million barrels compared to demand in the fourth quarter, a gap more observed in 16 years, have stretched a little more of a market already on edge.
“The market is watching stocks shrink” with anxiety, according to Andy Lipow, while Saudi Arabia and Russia have committed to depriving it of 1.3 million barrels per day by the end of the year, i.e. more of 100 million barrels.
In this context, ANZ bank analysts see Brent reaching $100 by the end of the year.
At odds with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman, frowned upon by American oil companies, President Joe Biden has no obvious lever to calm prices, underlines Bill O’Grady of Confluence Investment.
This “especially since it has drawn so much on the American strategic reserves” (SPR), which fell in July to their lowest level in almost 40 years, “that I do not see anyone supporting a new draw” of the SPR to make bring prices back down, explains the analyst.
In the United States, the price of gasoline is once again approaching the symbolic threshold of $4 per gallon (3.78 liters), at $3,858 on Thursday, according to the AAA association.
Black gold is the main responsible for the rise in inflation in the United States, illustrated by the CPI consumer price index and the PPI producer price index, published on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, Andy Lipow does not see any effect, in the short term, of the surge in prices on demand. “We’re not there yet, because American consumers continue to spend a lot,” he says.