Oil soars above $65 with Saudi supply gamble buoying crude bulls

Oil rallied to the highest in nearly two years in New York after OPEC shocked markets with a decision to keep supply limited as the global economy recovers from a pandemic-driven slump.

US benchmark crude futures topped $65 a barrel on Friday, while its global counterpart Brent edged closer to the key $70-a-barrel level. A surprise decision on Thursday by the producer group to keep output steady in April spurred a wave of upgrades in oil price forecasts by major banks and a surge in the market’s structure.

“We’re going to continue to draw inventory at a much faster rate than we had expected just two days ago,” said Andrew Lebow, senior partner at Commodity Research Group. “Moving forward, if demand continues to improve, there’s certainly a chance of a serious supply shortage.”