Oil Prices Cross $80 Mark Per Barrel, May Hit $90 In December

Related stories

“Stay Away from National Assembly,” Senate warns Natasha

By Abiola Olawale The Nigerian Senate has issued a s...

Awujale’s burial and Aso Rock’s graveyard politics By Festus Adedayo

By Festus Adedayo “Why should I bother myself with what...

Three deaths: Gainers and losers By Bolanle BOLAWOLE

By Bolanle BOLAWOLE turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058. The death of three...

(VIDEO) Applause as Billionaire Business Icon, Leemon Ikpea’s State-of-the-art Medical Facility in Ewatto, Nears Completion 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UCKl8rwMdSM&t=12s By Abiola Olawale The people of Ewatto in Esan South...

Before you accept his proposal, By Funke Egbemode

By Funke Egbemode If the man you are considering spending...

Oil prices reached a four-year high on Monday with global Benchmark Brent crude jumping more than 3 percent above $80 a barrel. And oil trader Trafigura even predicts that the price could hit $90 by December and $100 in 2019.

The increases occurred after Saudi Arabia and Russia ruled out any immediate increase in production despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for action to raise global supply.

Trafigura’s Co-Head of Oil Trading Ben Luckock told a conference on Monday that oil prices could rise to 90 dollars per barrel by Christmas and to 100 dollars per barrel by the New Year,

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC states, including top producer Russia, gathered in Algiers on Sunday for a meeting that ended with no formal recommendation for any additional supply boost to counter falling supply from Iran.

“The market’s still being driven by concerns about Iranian and Venezuelan supply,” said Gene McGillian, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford. “The failure of the producers to address that adequately this weekend is creating a buying opportunity.”

Brent crude settled up $2.40 or 3.1 percent at $81.20 a barrel, after touching an intraday high of $81.39, the highest since November, 2014. U.S. light crude CLc1 settled up $1.30, or 1.8 percent, higher at $72.08.

OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and its biggest oil-producer ally outside the group, Russia, on Sunday effectively rebuffed Trump’s demand for moves to cool the market.

“I do not influence prices,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters on Sunday.

Trump said last week that OPEC “must get prices down now!”, but Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday OPEC had not responded positively to Trump’s demands.

“It is now increasingly evident, that in the face of producers reluctant to raise output, the market will be confronted with supply gaps in the next three-six months that it will need to resolve through higher oil prices,” BNP Paribas oil strategist Harry Tchilinguirian told Reuters Global Oil Forum.

Commodity traders Trafigura and Mercuria said Brent could rise to $90 per barrel by Christmas and pass $100 in early 2019, as markets tighten once U.S. sanctions against Iran are fully implemented from November.

JPMorgan said U.S. sanctions on Iran could lead to a loss of 1.5 million barrels per day, while Mercuria warned that as much as 2 million bpd could be knocked out of the market.

Concerns about production shortfalls are encouraging traders to place more long bets, boosting Brent prices, said Brian LaRose, a technical analyst at United-ICAP.

“This is the seventh time over the last couple of months that we have challenged the highs,” he said, referring to individual monthly contracts, rather than a continuation contract. If Brent prices climb past $82 a barrel, he said prices up to $90 would be a near-term possibility.

Some have said softening demand from trade tensions between the U.S. and China to offset loss of Iranian supply, but Tradition’s McGillian said that unless trade tensions show signs of eroding Chinese demand, oil prices will surge further.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
"Stay Away from National Assembly," Senate warns NatashaAwujale’s burial and Aso Rock’s graveyard politics By Festus AdedayoThree deaths: Gainers and losers By Bolanle BOLAWOLE(VIDEO) Applause as Billionaire Business Icon, Leemon Ikpea's State-of-the-art Medical Facility in Ewatto, Nears Completion Before you accept his proposal, By Funke EgbemodeOil Price Volatility and Higher Valuations Cause M&A Activity to SlowDrama as UNIMAID ASUU Opposes Tinubu, Vows To Contest Renaming of Varsity After Late BuhariFalana Lashes Okpebholo, Warns: "Withdraw Your Statement, Apologize to Obi immediately."NDDC's N6 trillion: SERAP Drags Tinubu to Court Over Non-Release of Forensic Audit ReportFears Soars As PDP Confirms Assassination Attempt on Anambra Gov Candidate, EzenwaforBreakdown as FAAC Disburses N1.818 Trillion in June 2025 2027: Osun Senator, Fadeyi Dumps PDP, Amid Adeleke's Defection SpeculationsRanked: The 40 Countries With the Best Culture and HeritageEFCC Probing 18 Sitting Governors in Major Corruption Crackdown, Olukoyede RevealsNatasha Vows to Return to Senate Tuesday, Despite Akpabio's Appeal
X whatsapp