Brent Oil Price Rises Above $86 A Barrel

The price of a barrel of Brent oil, the benchmark for oil from the Middle East and the North Sea, rose to $86 on Monday. US oil also became more expensive again, with oil prices continuing their recent rise. Prices are at their highest levels in years.

Prices were supported by comments by Saudi Arabia that the oil alliance OPEC+ will continue the cautious approach to gradually increasing production.

According to the Saudi oil minister, there are still risks to the oil market due to the corona pandemic. He thinks oil demand could strengthen this year as the northern hemisphere winter gets colder than usual.

Over the past 12 months, oil prices have more than doubled due to strong demand driven by the world’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. On the other hand, there is a tight supply in the oil market. OPEC+, the oil cartel OPEC alliance with allies like Russia, is increasing daily production by 400,000 barrels each month, but that is not enough to meet the high demand.

Oil demand is further boosted by the lack of gas and coal in Europe and Asia. As a result, energy companies are switching to oil to keep production going.