Crude prices continue to rise, Brent above $36/bbl

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Crude oil prices continued gaining momentum on Thursday on improved demand amid opening up of economies globally. Further, declining stocks in the US also supported the prices, analyst said.Currently, the July contract of Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is trading at $36.70 per barrel, 2.66 per cent higher than the previous close.Similarly, the WTI crude also surged on Thursday. On the NYMEX, the July delivery contract of WTI is currently trading at $34.33 per barrel, higher by 2.51 per cent from the previous close.The easing of lockdown restrictions across countries has lifted the demand for transportation fuels. Further, the implementation of the output cut agreement by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, has also supported the prices, analysts said.OPEC and its allies led by Russia had last month agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June.The recovery in oil prices comes after the freefall in April on concerns of decline in the storage capacity as supply surged although the demand remained nearly standstill.In April, the WTI crude fell below zero and turned negative for the first time ever owing to the lack of storage.
--IANS rrb/sn/skp/