Brent crude climbed $1.34, or 4.1%, to $33.84 a barrel by 1244 GMT, after touching a high since April 13. Production is also falling as US energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating to an all-time low for a second consecutive week. That partly helped ease concerns about the WTI contract’s delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, running out of space. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which hosts trading in WTI futures, brokerages and the United States Oil Fund LP, the largest oil-focused exchange-traded product in the country, have all taken steps that reduce open positions ahead of the WTI contract’s expiry. Also supporting oil prices are production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 18, 2020 00:45 UTC