Oil rises 2% to more than one-year high on supply cuts, stimulus hopes | Reuters

Oil rises 2% to more than one-year high on supply cuts, stimulus hopes | Reuters

Oil prices rose 2% on Monday to their highest in over a year, with Brent nudging past $60 a barrel, boosted by supply cuts among key producers and hopes for further U.S. economic stimulus.

Brent rose $1.22, or 2.1%, to settle at $60.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose $1.12, or 2%, to settle at $57.97 a barrel. Both benchmarks were at the highest since January 2020.

“Managing to breach $60 again feels like the market is finally resurfacing after the long struggle and (taking) a proper breath,” said Rystad Energy’s vice president for oil markets Paola Rodriguez Masiu. “It offers a feeling of normality again.”

Brent and WTI have risen more than 60% since the start of November due to optimism around coronavirus vaccine distributions as well as production cuts from OPEC+ members.

“There seems to be a paradigm shift in the market,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “There is a sense that the glut of oil supply is disappearing more rapidly than anybody thought possible.”