Oil prices jumped more than $1 a barrel on Friday, hitting their highest levels in nearly 14 months, after OPEC and its allies during a meeting on Thursday agreed not to increase supply in April, Reuters news agency reports.
Brent crude futures for May rose to as high as $68 a barrel on Friday, a level not seen since Jan. 8, 2020. During the trades in Friday morning, the contract was up $1.09, or 1.6%, reaching $67.83,
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 93 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.76 per barrel after hitting a high of $64.94 earlier in the session.
Both contracts surged more than 4% on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, extended oil output curbs into April, granting small exemptions to Russia and Kazakhstan.
Investors were surprised that Saudi Arabia had decided to maintain its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day through April even after oil prices rallied over the past two months.
Following the Thursday OPEC+ meeting, Goldman Sachs raised its Brent price forecast by $5 to $75 per barrel in the second quarter and $80 per barrel in the third quarter of this year, while UBS raised its forecast for Brent to $75 per barrel and for WTI to $72 per barrel in the second half of 2021.
