WTI Crude rises to 7-year high of $80.7 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased to a near 7-high of $80.7/Bbl, extending multiweek gains, as demand continued to outstrip supply.

Last week, US oil benchmark jumped over 5%, its seventh consecutive week of gains and the longest winning streak since December 2013.

The crude market has been spurred from substitution effects amid soaring natural gas prices and as OPEC+ decided early in the week to stick with its planned 400,000 bpd increase in crude output quota for November, despite pressure from some countries including the US and India to add more supply to stabilize prices.

Meanwhile, the US Energy Department said that it has no plans to tap the nation’s oil reserves at the moment following a report on Wednesday suggesting it may have been considering that option to curb rising prices.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark for US crude is the world’s most actively traded commodity.

Source: Trading Economics