Oil surges following OPEC's monthly market report

Shafaq News / Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Monday after OPEC's monthly market report eased market concerns about waning demand in the United States and China.

Brent crude futures were up $1.25, or 1.5%, at $82.68 a barrel by 1158 a.m. ET (1658 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.24, or 1.6%, at $78.41.

In a monthly report on Monday, OPEC said that oil market fundamentals remained strong and blamed speculators for a drop in prices. OPEC made a slight increase to its 2023 forecast for global oil demand growth and stuck to its relatively high 2024 prediction.

"The OPEC monthly oil market report appeared to push back against demand concerns, referencing overblown negative sentiment around Chinese demand while raising demand growth forecasts for this year and leaving them unchanged for next," Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

Investors had been worried after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said last week that the country's crude oil production this year will rise by slightly less than previously expected and that demand will fall.

(Reuters)