Jan 11, 2022 06:46AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
Oil prices rose to around $82 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by tight supplies and hopes that rising coronavirus cases and the spread of the Omicron variant will not derail the global demand recovery.
Due to a lack of capacity in some countries, OPEC's output remains below the increase allowed under a pact with allies. Major economies have avoided a return to strict closures, although the number of coronavirus cases is rising.
Brent crude rose $1.14, or 1.4%, to $82.01 a barrel at 1134 GMT, after falling 1% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose $1.16, or 1.5%, to $79.39 after falling 0.8% on Monday.
Brent is up 50% in 2021 and has rallied further in 2022 as investors see demand rising while OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, slowly ease record production levels agreed in 2020.
Outages in Libya have also supported prices, and although production has risen, the National Oil Corp said on Tuesday it would suspend exports from the Es Sider terminal.
The weaker US dollar also had a favorable impact on oil prices, making oil cheaper in other currencies and tending to increase investors' appetite for risk.
Another indication of tightening supply came in the form of recent reports on US inventories, which are expected to show a drop in crude stocks of around 2 million barrels.
This week's first supply report, from the American Petroleum Institute (API), is due to be released at 2130 GMT.
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