Oil climbed as top exporters of crude suggested that they might extend output curbs beyond this year, adding momentum to a monthly rebound.
Futures in New York posted a 5.4 percent increase last month, erasing February losses fueled by mounting US stockpiles.
Some OPEC producers and allies are considering prolonging efforts to drain a global supply glut up to the middle of next year, Iraqi Minister of Oil Jabbar al-Luaibi said at a conference in Baghdad.
“The potential for OPEC to extend their agreement instead of starting to cut it off at the end of the year is a positive development,” said Park City, Utah-based Mark Watkins, who helps oversee US$151 billion in assets at US Bank Wealth Management. “It shows OPEC is serious about continuing to have a stable price for oil.”
Crude has rebounded more than 50 percent since June last year, with the rally regaining steam this month as geopolitical worries heat up.
US President Donald Trump’s appointment of John Bolton as national security adviser triggered speculation of renewed sanctions against Iran, OPEC’s third-largest producer.
Meanwhile, the rapid increase in US crude production, which has topped 10 million barrels per day each week since early February, has placed a lid on prices that have remained below January’s three-year high of US$66.66.
West Texas Intermediate for delivery next month on Thursday gained US$0.56 to settle at US$64.94 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices posting a third-straight quarterly gain, the longest streak since 2011.
Brent for settlement next month, which expires on Thursday next week, on Thursday added US$0.74 to end the session at US$70.27 per barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
The June contract on Thursday rose US$0.58 to settle at US$69.34.
The global benchmark traded at a US$5.33 premium to West Texas Intermediate.
The European and New York bourses on Thursday closed for the long Easter holiday weekend.
At the same energy conference, OPEC secretary-general Mohammad Barkindo said the group is looking for long-term cooperation with other global producers.
In the US, the most recent US Energy Information Administration data showed that while crude inventories ticked higher, gasoline supplies shrank.
BNP Paribas SA boosted its West Texas Intermediate and Brent forecasts for this year amid OPEC’s efforts to balance markets and the geopolitical fallout from tensions between the US and Iran.
“People are focused on the fundamentals of oil and they are very strong right now,” Chicago-based Price Futures Group Inc senior market analyst Phil Flynn said by telephone. “We are seeing very strong demand for oil around the globe. As refiners come out of maintenance, we are going to be in a very tight marketplace.”
In other energy futures trading, heating oil on Thursday gained US$0.01 to US$2.03 per gallon, while wholesale gasoline rose US$0.01 to US$2.02 per gallon and natural gas added US$0.04 to US$2.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold on Thursday fell US$1.40 to US$1,322.80 per ounce, while silver rose US$0.02 to US$16.27 per ounce — the metal is down 3.4 percent this quarter — and copper added US$0.02 to US$3.03 per pound.
Additional reporting by AP
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