Oil remains near multi-year highs as energy crunch continues | Reuters

Oil remains near multi-year highs as energy crunch continues | Reuters

Oil rose on Tuesday and was near multi-year highs as an energy supply crunch continued across the globe, while falling temperatures in China revived concerns over whether the world's biggest energy consumer can meet domestic heating needs.

The Brent crude benchmark was up 99 cents, or 1.2%, to $85.32 a barrel by 12:59 p.m. EDT (1659 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose $1.27, or 1.5%, to $83.71 a barrel.

Prices have been climbing the last two months. Since the start of September, Brent has risen by about 19%, while WTI has gained around 22%.

"Supply-demand balances show that the market is experiencing a supply deficit, which is spurring deep inventory draws and driving prices upwards," said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy. "This market tightness is expected to extend into most of 2022, and crude oil demand will only catch up with crude supply by the fourth quarter of next year."