Oil prices jumped more than 1 percent on Friday, pushed up by Saudi plans for OPEC and Russian led production curbs introduced in 2017 to be extended into 2019 in order to tighten the market. The rise in oil prices defied global stock markets, which slumped on the back of worries about a trade stand-off between the United States and China. Morgan Stanley also cited a pick-up in seasonal demand in the coming month and geopolitical risk as potential supports for oil prices. With the inventory cushion largely gone, oil prices will likely be more sensitive to geopolitical risk factors,” the US bank said. “There are sufficient reasons to expect oil prices to strengthen further from here, and we stick with our (Brent) $75 per barrel call for Q3,” Morgan Stanley said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 23, 2018 03:00 UTC