Oil soars to near 14-month high as OPEC+ extends output cuts into April | Reuters

Oil soars to near 14-month high as OPEC+ extends output cuts into April | Reuters

Oil prices jumped more than $1 a barrel on Friday, hitting their highest levels in nearly 14 months, after OPEC and its allies agreed not to increase supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Brent crude futures for May rose to as high as $68 a barrel on Friday, a level not seen since Jan. 8, 2020. The contract was up $1.09, or 1.6%, to $67.83 a barrel at 0730 GMT, and was on track for a near 3% gain in the week.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 93 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.76 per barrel after hitting a high of $64.94 earlier in the session.

Both contracts surged more than 4% on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, extended oil output curbs into April, granting small exemptions to Russia and Kazakhstan.

“OPEC+ has kept output steady indicating that it wants to take a cautious approach in normalising production,” said Ravindra Rao, vice president, commodities at Kotak Securities.