Baghdad – IA
Oil prices continued their gains, approaching $91 per barrel, while a Bloomberg website report expected it to reach above $100.
The price of Brent futures contracts reached $90.78 per barrel as of 4 p.m. Baghdad time.
For American crude, it reached $86.61 per barrel at the same time.
A report published by Bloomberg says that the foundations of the continued rise in oil prices are due to global supply shocks that are working to intensify fears of a return of inflation due to basic commodities. According to the report, Mexico’s decision to reduce its crude oil exports exacerbated global pressure, prompting refineries in the United States (the world’s largest oil producer) to consume more domestic barrels. US sanctions also led to Russian goods being stranded at sea. Venezuelan supplies are the next potential target. All of this – according to the report – adds to the magnitude of the supply disruption that surprised traders, while the crisis is working to stimulate a rise in oil prices ahead of the summer driving season in the United States, which threatens to push Brent crude to $100 for the first time in almost two years. According to the report, this leads to an increase in inflationary fears that cloud the chances of US President Joe Biden’s re-election and complicates central banks’ deliberations on lowering interest rates. The report quoted the founder and director of research at Energy Aspects Ltd., in an interview with Bloomberg TV, Amrita Sen, as saying that for oil, “the biggest driver now is the supply side,” adding: “I have seen quite a few factors of weak supply, “At a time when demand is generally healthy.”