Around 2:20 GMT, a barrel of Brent, the European benchmark crude, for July delivery progressed of 27 cents to 50.01 dollars in electronic trading in Asia.
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Brent crude, used to price Global oils, added 32 cents to $50.06 a barrel after rising as high as $50.26 earlier.
Brent LCON6, +0.62%, the global benchmark for oil, rose 30 cents to $50.04 a barrel in morning Asian trade, its highest point since the beginning of November.
But in recent weeks, oil prices have rebounded on lower output caused by wildfires in Canada, as well as unrest in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer.
Natural gas for July was down 2.2 cents at US$2.159 cents per mmBTU, June gold contracts were up $5.60 at US$1,229.40 and July copper contracts were at US$2.11, up almost a cent. For WTI oil, it’s the first time above $50 a barrel since October and leaves it an incredible 93% above its February low of $26.05.
“I don’t think the rally will last because prices will reach a level that will bring United States shale oil output back into the market”, he added.
USA crude futures were up 29 cents at US$49.85 a barrel, after touching US$49.97, the highest since mid-October. Canadian oil-sands producers that cut more than 1 million barrels a day from the market because of the threat of wildfires are starting the process of resuming operations.
“The effects of the weaker oil price have not played through the oil sector or been fully reflected in companies’ profits and losses”.
Unplanned outages in Nigeria, Libya and Canada have also been adding to the picture of easing oversupply.
“There’s a decent chance it will breach $50 a barrel (later on Thursday)”. It reported that USA gasoline inventories rose by 2 MMbbls (million barrels) to 240.1 MMbbls from May 13-20, 2016.
Still, many see the glut continuing amid increased production from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries including Iran.
Refinery crude runs fell by 92,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed.
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OPEC officials were more positive about market conditions ahead of next week’s gathering, sources said on Thursday, in a sign the exporter group is unlikely to change output policy.
