Brent crude oil flirted with another $70 per barrel breakthrough today (May 6) before easing back to slightly above $68, as of 6pm.
But oil markets analyst Louise Dickson, of Rystad Energy, said “bullish” momentum for oil prices was likely here to stay as traders stand by their “solid” expectations that global demand is going to grow soon, outpacing supply.
Prices are also supported by confidence that Europe is “on the cusp of reopening its economy after one of the strictest spring lockdowns globally,” Ms Dickson added.
The price of a barrel of global benchmark Brent crude burst through the $70 barrier in March, following a steady recovery from a 21-year low in April 2020.
Brent’s US cousin, West Texas Intermediate, hit minus $40 a barrel at one stage last year as a combination of an oil glut and greatly reduced demand amid the Covid-19 crisis drove a slump in prices.
Another good day for the Footsie
Meanwhile, London’s top market for shares hit another 14-month high today, with little impact from big decisions from the Bank of England.
The FTSE 100 ended the day firmly in the green, although a little tempered from Wednesday’s rocketing market.
By the end of the session the index had risen 0.5%, or nearly 37 points, to 7,076.17.
The Bank decided to keep both interest rates and its quantitative easing programme unchanged. It also decided to slash the size of its weekly bond purchases by £1 billion to £3.4bn.
Leading shares were likely helped by a falling pound, which was worth 1.3879 US dollars – a 0.2% drop – by the London market close. Sterling also fell 0.6% to 1.1518 euros.