Sentiments in the oil market remain upbeat on surging demand, fading omicron fears, and Opec+’s inability to ramp up output with leading analysts agreeing in near-unison that it is now a question of when — not if — oil hits triple digits.

Global benchmark Brent crude has jumped 25 per cent to around $88 a barrel since the end of November. Analysts at Kamco, Century Financial and Rystad Energy are unanimous in their upbeat price projections for oil on the back of the unexpected product gap the market is facing.

The lowering of risk related to the Omicron variant further added to the positive sentiments as oil hovered around the $90-barrel mark. Several estimates now suggest oil reaching triple digit market this year as supply struggles to cope up with rising demand led by years of under investment coupled with restrained supplies from not just Opec but even non-Opec producers worldwide, Kamco analysts said.

Analysts at US investment bank Goldman Sachs are forecasting that oil prices could breach $100 a barrel this year.

“Energy traders are bracing for oil prices to reach $100 a barrel as crude demand appears to be back on track to return to pre-pandemic levels and as supplies will likely remain very tight for the rest of the year,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group, has been quoted as saying.

source : https://www.khaleejtimes.com