In global oil markets, barrel prices rose for a seventh straight week last week, marking the biggest increase since early 2022, as the International Energy Agency warned of increasingly tight supplies.
In the London market, the price of a barrel of Brent rose last week by 0.5 percent, to 86.81 dollars, but with the same increase, the price of a barrel in the American market also increased, closing the week at 83.19 dollars.
The price of Brent crude oil is at its highest level since January, and the US crude oil price is at its highest level since the beginning of the year. The last time oil prices rose for seven consecutive weeks was in January-February 2022, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The rise in oil prices was supported by the IEA's estimate released on Friday that global oil demand reached a record 103 million barrels per day in June and could hit a new record in August.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in its monthly forecast, reiterated its estimates for annual oil demand, expecting growth of 2.25 million barrels per day in 2024, compared with 2.44 million barrels per day in 2023.
On the supply side, production has slowed significantly in recent months due to voluntary production cuts in Saudi Arabia and Russia. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, began cutting supply in late 2022 to bolster the market and in June extended the cuts through 2024.
If current OPEC+ targets are maintained, oil inventories could fall by 2.2 million bpd in the third quarter and by 1.2 million bpd in the fourth quarter, potentially triggering another price hike, the IEA predicted on Friday.
