Oil in New York topped $70 a barrel for the first time since October 2018 as upbeat comments on the market from major trader Vitol Group added to optimism over the global demand recovery.
Futures rose as much as 0.6% after posting a second weekly gain, while global Brent traded above $72 a barrel. OPEC+ appears in control of crude prices, with U.S. production lagging pre-pandemic levels, Mike Muller, Vitol’s head of Asia, said at a conference on Sunday. The alliance is returning supply after output cuts helped to tighten the market.
A robust rebound from the virus in the U.S., China and Europe has driven prices more than 40% higher this year, although the Covid-19 comeback in Asia is a reminder that the recovery will be uneven.
