Oil prices held at a seven-week high on Thursday as storm worries in the Gulf of Mexico and heightened tensions in the Middle East outweighed OPEC’s forecast for a large crude surplus in 2020 as U.S. shale production continues to surge.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 16 cents, or 0.3%, to $60.59 a barrel by 7:40 AM ET (11:40 GMT), its highest level since May 23.
Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., traded up 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $67.19, its highest level since May 29.
In its latest monthly report released Thursday, OPEC forecast global oil demand to rise by 1.14 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, matching the projection for 2019. But the cartel raised its forecast for non-OPEC supply growth to accelerate from 2.05 million bpd to 2.44 million bpd in 2020.
Source: Investing.com