Oil prices jumped by more than 1 on Tuesday, underpinned by optimism over COVID19 vaccine rollouts and lower output as U.S. supplies were slow to return after a deep freeze in Texas shut in crude production last week.
Shale oil producers in the southern United States could take at least two weeks to restart the more than 2 million barrels per day bpd of crude output that shut down because of cold weather, as frozen pipes and power supply interruptions slow their recovery, sources said.
Brent crude was up 1.08, or 1.7, at 66.32 a barrel by 0437 GMT, after earlier hitting a high of 66.79. U.S. crude rose 92 cents, or 1.5, to 62.62 a barrel, having reached a session high of 63. Both benchmarks have risen more than 2 on Tuesday after climbing nearly 4 in the previous session.
The positive momentum continues in the oil complex, with investors unabashedly predisposed to a bullish view, said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi in a note.
Goldman Sachs Commodities Research raised its Brent crude oil price forecasts by 10 for the second and third quarters of 2021, citing lower expected inventories, higher marginal costs to restart upstream activity and speculative inflows.
The Wall Street bank expects Brent prices to reach 70 per barrel in the second quarter from the 60 it predicted previously and 75 in the third quarter from 65 earlier.
Morgan Stanley expects Brent crude prices to climb to 70 per barrel in the third quarter on signs of a much improved…