Oil prices surge; U.S. crude touches high above $80 a barrel | Reuters

Oil prices surge; U.S. crude touches high above $80 a barrel | Reuters

Oil prices rose on Friday, upmore than 4% on the week as a global energy crunch has boosted prices to their highest since 2014 and prompted China to demand increased coal production.

With global energy demand growing, OPEC and allied producers have said they would stay the course of gradually bringing back production cuts, and while the U.S. government said it was monitoring energy markets, it did not announce immediate plans for actions to lower prices. read more

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude touched a high above $80 a barrel briefly.

"Oil prices are surging as the U.S. Department of Energy has backed off from plans that could curb prices by releasing SPR crude oil and banning U.S. crude exports," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "There's not a lot of risk to being long" with bullish bets on oil futures, he said.

Energy markets have tightened in the face of improved fuel demand as economic activity rebounds from pandemic lows, and many fear that a cold winter could further strain natural gas supplies. China ordered miners in Inner Mongolia to ramp up coal production to alleviate its energy crunch. read more

"As other energy prices like natural gas and coal keep pushing higher, upside risks to the oil market have started to build," said Bank of America's Christopher Kuplent.

Brent crude futures rose 62 cents, or 0.6%, to $82.56 a barrel by 12:20 p.m. Eastern (1620 GMT) while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.02 or 1.3% to $79.31 after briefly touching a session high of $80.11 a barrel, surpassing a nearly seven-year high of $79.78 touched earlier this week.