Oil prices extend gains to multi-year highs on tight supply, fuel demand
LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices extended pre-weekend gains on Monday to hit multi-year highs, lifted by tight global supply and strengthening fuel demand in the United States and beyond as economies recover from pandemic-induced slumps.
Brent crude futures rose by 81 cents, or 1%, to $86.34 a barrel, following on from last Friday’s 1.1% gain. Earlier on Monday they touched $86.43, the highest price since October 2018.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 86 cents, or 1%, to $84.62 a barrel after gaining 1.5% on Friday. They hit their highest since October 2014 at $84.76 earlier on Monday.
Both benchmarks closed last week with slight gains despite rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe, signalling a potentially difficult winter ahead.
