Oil rises around 2% on strong U.S. demand

News Image

MG News | December 17, 2021 at 09:36 AM GMT+05:00

0:00

December 17, 2021: Oil prices rose around 2% on Thursday, as record U.S. implied demand, falling crude stockpiles and an upbeat economic outlook from the Federal Reserve trumped fears of the Omicron coronavirus variant hurting global consumption.

Crude and other risk assets such as equities also got a boost after the Fed gave an upbeat economic outlook, lifting investor spirits even as the U.S. central bank flagged a long-awaited end to monetary stimulus.

"The market was fearful of what the Fed was going to do, and now that it's in the rearview and we know what we're dealing with, the market is rallying," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst price futures group in Chicago.

Brent crude oil rose $1.14, or 1.5%, to settle at $75.02 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.51, or 2.1%, to settle at $72.38 a barrel, a 2.13 percent gain.

Demand has been rising in 2021 after last year's collapse. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said products supplied by refineries, a proxy for demand, surged in the latest week to 23.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

"These figures suggest a healthy economic backdrop," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

"Although the Fed's announcement triggered a jump in both oil and equity prices, the withdrawal of economic support together with the Omicron crisis are the two major headwinds the oil market is currently facing," he added.

Lending further price support, the EIA also reported that U.S. crude stocks fell 4.6 million barrels, more than analysts had forecast.

In Saudi Arabia, crude oil exports in October rose for a sixth straight month to their highest since April 2020, the Joint Organisation Data Initiative (JODI) said on Thursday.

Limiting gains were worries about the virus and the prospect of a supply surplus next year, as flagged by the International Energy Agency in its monthly report this week. [IEA/M]

Britain and South Africa reported record daily COVID-19 cases while many firms across the globe asked employees to work from home, which could limit demand going forward.

On Thursday, AstraZeneca and Regeneron reported contrasting data on the effectiveness of their COVID-19 antibody therapies against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

U.S.-based Regeneron said its REGEN-COV therapy, also called Ronapreve, is less effective against Omicron, while Anglo-Swedish rival AstraZeneca said a lab study found that its antibody cocktail Evusheld retained neutralising activity against Omicron.

Reuters

Related News

Name Price/Vol %Chg/NChg
KSE100 138,665.50
299.28M
1.68%
2285.53
ALLSHR 85,699.50
778.48M
1.24%
1051.15
KSE30 42,353.14
103.20M
1.94%
806.91
KMI30 195,182.04
107.99M
1.81%
3462.27
KMIALLSHR 56,389.15
437.73M
1.01%
561.42
BKTi 38,422.98
17.31M
1.57%
595.37
OGTi 27,718.26
13.25M
0.17%
47.58
Symbol Bid/Ask High/Low
Name Last High/Low Chg/%Chg
BITCOIN FUTURES 118,215.00 119,915.00
117,720.00
-1415.00
-1.18%
BRENT CRUDE 68.87 69.01
68.27
0.35
0.51%
RICHARDS BAY COAL MONTHLY 96.50 0.00
0.00
0.95
0.99%
ROTTERDAM COAL MONTHLY 104.50 0.00
0.00
-0.65
-0.62%
USD RBD PALM OLEIN 998.50 998.50
998.50
0.00
0.00%
CRUDE OIL - WTI 67.02 67.20
66.29
0.64
0.96%
SUGAR #11 WORLD 16.81 16.84
16.54
0.25
1.51%

Chart of the Day


Latest News
July 17, 2025 at 05:11 PM GMT+05:00

Gold price in Pakistan falls Rs900 per tola


July 17, 2025 at 04:53 PM GMT+05:00

PSX issues consultation paper on free-float requirements


July 17, 2025 at 04:30 PM GMT+05:00

KTML Board proposes share sub-division to Rs2 face value


July 17, 2025 at 04:06 PM GMT+05:00

PSX Closing Bell: A Sky Full of Gains



Top 5 things to watch in this week

Pakistan Stock Movers
Name Last Chg/%Chg
Name Last Chg/%Chg