At a high of more than 7 years Brent

Brent crude is at its highest intra-conference price since 2015, as supply “tightens” relative to demand and concerns about the impact of the coronavirus’s Micron mutation subside.

After four consecutive weeks of gains, which ended on Friday, brent continued its upward trend on Monday morning, before making small losses due to the slowdown in China’s growth. The high prices are justified and most likely the upward trend will continue, notes Vitol Group with the supply responding with increasing difficulty to demand.

Since the beginning of 2022, oil has recorded a “rally” of 10%, mainly due to interruptions in the production of OPEC + countries, including Libya. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week that global demand was stronger than expected, with crude buyers looking to the future beyond Omicron.

“The oil complex has already put the latest pandemic crisis behind it,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Singapore-based Vanda Insights. “The widening distance of OPEC + actual production from targets and lurking geopolitical threats to supply further enhance the upward climate.”

The global benchmark, Brent oil delivery in March rose 0.6% to $ 86.56 a barrel in London at 9.30 am Greek time, while it reached $ 86.71 earlier, at its highest point since October 2014.

The American WTI crude delivery in February wins 0.8% to $ 84.49 a barrel.

The “zero Covid” policy pursued in China will logically ensure that the Omicron wave will not be so widespread in the country that it will significantly reduce the use of petroleum products in the country, says Mike Muller, Vitol’s head for Asia.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) cut its key interest rate for the first time in almost two years to boost the economy, which has been hit by a real estate crisis and repeated pandemics. Chinese GDP grew by 4% in the fourth quarter of 2021 on an annual basis, at the lowest growth rates since early 2020.